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Safety in clinical and biochemical laboratories
316 necessarily contains an impression of difficulty and speculation, and the concluding discussion on the ‘oncogene paradigm’ reiterates the faults of the Introduction. The authors seem in their element churning out facts, philosophy is not their strong point. The book boasts 93 figures: most of these attempt to reinforce the undergraduate nature of the book. It is difficult to see anyone seriously interested enough in the subject to buy a book selecting this either as a valuable reference or as an embellishment to their personal library.
Peter Davies Principal Research Associate, Tenovus Insiitute for Cancer Research, CJniversi& of Wales College of Medicine, Cardifj CF4 4Xx, UK
*****
Safety
in Clinical and Biochemical
Laboratories
Edited by C.H. Collins Chapman Hall Medical, London, UK, 1988, 158 pp. ISBN o-412-28370-0, &11.50
The literature relating to health and safety in clinical and biochemical laboratories is extensive, and there have been a number of revisions to existing legislation and codes of practice applicable to British laboratories in recent years. As a consequence, the editor of this book points out that laboratory workers and managers may have to consult many books and official publications to answer questions on safe laboratory procedures. The aim of the book is therefore to collect under one cover information about the hazards, chemical, microbiological, and equipment related, that are common in clinical and biomedical laboratories, and to give references to larger works and official regulations. The book will prove to be a welcome addition to the library of personnel with responsibility for, or an interest in, laboratory safety. The contributors to the volume are of varied background, but common interest, and consequently produce a comprehensive coverage of the subject ranging from infective and radiation hazards, to the extreme of osteomylitis of the thumb associated with excessive pipetting. Although quite a slim volume, the authors have succeeded in incorporating a large amount of information within its confines by judicious use of tables and checklists derived from publications relevant to the area under discussion. The work remains however remarkably readable due to the incorporation of descriptions of actual accident situations, which well illustrate hazard situations and serve to put listed hazards into context. The work cites over 150 references, and includes Acts of Parliament and regulations applicable to laboratory safety up to and including the Control of Substances Harmful to Health Act 1987 (C.O.S.H.H.). One criticism may however be levelled at the section pertaining to precautions with radioactive/radioactive substances, in that the 1985 Ionising Radiation Regulations, and Approved Code of Practice (HSE 1985) are not referred to directly by the author and consequently some minor revisions to this section may be required. As well as containing information on a variety of practical aspects of laboratory safety there are sections of the book dealing with health care in laboratories and fist aid. The relevant legislation applicable to these latter two areas are cited and the statutory responsibilities of employee and employer outlined. The book concludes with a safety audit check list which should prove to be a useful guide to those responsible for laboratory safety. In conclusion, this slim volume would appear to achieve the goal set in its preface. It contains a lot of immediately useful information and succeeds in listing within its confines most of the relevant acts of
317 parliament, regulations, updates and references
and codes of practice applicable to laboratories in the United relevant to safety arising from other bodies and authors.
Kingdom,
plus
W.A. Bartlett, Senior Biochemist, Department of Biochemical Medicine, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee, DDI 9SY, UK
*****
Advances in Steroid Analysis, 1987. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium of Steroids. Sopron, Hungary, October 20-22, 1987 Edited by S. Gorog and E. Heftmann Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, 1988, 584 pp., $58.00
on the Analysis
This book, the third in the series, includes 73 papers that cover the analytical aspects of a diverse range of steroids. The book is divided into five main sections. In the first chapter (80 pages) 8 papers present topics relating to protein binding and receptor binding studies. There then follows chapters on immunoassay (156 pages, 22 papers), chromatography (194 pages, 23 papers) clinical applications (88 pages, 13 papers) and finally a brief miscellaneous chapter (54 pages, 7 papers). The chapter concerning clinical applications is a welcome new addition to the format of the series and in the main the topics covered in the chapter relate to androgen metabolism. Other clinical applications reported include the measurement of vitamin D metabolites and an interesting paper relating to the hazards of occupational exposure to synthetic steroids. As with all books of this type, that report proceedings of meetings, the content for the most part is of a very special&d nature and I suspect most papers will be of interest to only a select group of individuals. The authors have been limited in the length of presentation allowed and this has in many cases resulted in an introduction and discussion which is inadequate for the non-specialist. However, most papers are adequately referenced if the reader wishes to seek further information. In summary, the book contains a large amount of practical information concerning the measurement of specific steroids and as such it provides a useful reference text at a modest price. It is certainly a book to be recommended for the reference library but I doubt if it will find its way into many personal libraries.
Dr. G.J. Beckett Senior Lecturer, Department of Clinical Chemistty, The Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, EH3 9Y W, Scotland
*II***
Peter Davies Principal Research Associate, Tenovus Insiitute for Cancer Research, CJniversi& of Wales College of Medicine, Cardifj CF4 4Xx, UK
*****
Safety
in Clinical and Biochemical
Laboratories
Edited by C.H. Collins Chapman Hall Medical, London, UK, 1988, 158 pp. ISBN o-412-28370-0, &11.50
The literature relating to health and safety in clinical and biochemical laboratories is extensive, and there have been a number of revisions to existing legislation and codes of practice applicable to British laboratories in recent years. As a consequence, the editor of this book points out that laboratory workers and managers may have to consult many books and official publications to answer questions on safe laboratory procedures. The aim of the book is therefore to collect under one cover information about the hazards, chemical, microbiological, and equipment related, that are common in clinical and biomedical laboratories, and to give references to larger works and official regulations. The book will prove to be a welcome addition to the library of personnel with responsibility for, or an interest in, laboratory safety. The contributors to the volume are of varied background, but common interest, and consequently produce a comprehensive coverage of the subject ranging from infective and radiation hazards, to the extreme of osteomylitis of the thumb associated with excessive pipetting. Although quite a slim volume, the authors have succeeded in incorporating a large amount of information within its confines by judicious use of tables and checklists derived from publications relevant to the area under discussion. The work remains however remarkably readable due to the incorporation of descriptions of actual accident situations, which well illustrate hazard situations and serve to put listed hazards into context. The work cites over 150 references, and includes Acts of Parliament and regulations applicable to laboratory safety up to and including the Control of Substances Harmful to Health Act 1987 (C.O.S.H.H.). One criticism may however be levelled at the section pertaining to precautions with radioactive/radioactive substances, in that the 1985 Ionising Radiation Regulations, and Approved Code of Practice (HSE 1985) are not referred to directly by the author and consequently some minor revisions to this section may be required. As well as containing information on a variety of practical aspects of laboratory safety there are sections of the book dealing with health care in laboratories and fist aid. The relevant legislation applicable to these latter two areas are cited and the statutory responsibilities of employee and employer outlined. The book concludes with a safety audit check list which should prove to be a useful guide to those responsible for laboratory safety. In conclusion, this slim volume would appear to achieve the goal set in its preface. It contains a lot of immediately useful information and succeeds in listing within its confines most of the relevant acts of
317 parliament, regulations, updates and references
and codes of practice applicable to laboratories in the United relevant to safety arising from other bodies and authors.
Kingdom,
plus
W.A. Bartlett, Senior Biochemist, Department of Biochemical Medicine, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee, DDI 9SY, UK
*****
Advances in Steroid Analysis, 1987. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium of Steroids. Sopron, Hungary, October 20-22, 1987 Edited by S. Gorog and E. Heftmann Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, 1988, 584 pp., $58.00
on the Analysis
This book, the third in the series, includes 73 papers that cover the analytical aspects of a diverse range of steroids. The book is divided into five main sections. In the first chapter (80 pages) 8 papers present topics relating to protein binding and receptor binding studies. There then follows chapters on immunoassay (156 pages, 22 papers), chromatography (194 pages, 23 papers) clinical applications (88 pages, 13 papers) and finally a brief miscellaneous chapter (54 pages, 7 papers). The chapter concerning clinical applications is a welcome new addition to the format of the series and in the main the topics covered in the chapter relate to androgen metabolism. Other clinical applications reported include the measurement of vitamin D metabolites and an interesting paper relating to the hazards of occupational exposure to synthetic steroids. As with all books of this type, that report proceedings of meetings, the content for the most part is of a very special&d nature and I suspect most papers will be of interest to only a select group of individuals. The authors have been limited in the length of presentation allowed and this has in many cases resulted in an introduction and discussion which is inadequate for the non-specialist. However, most papers are adequately referenced if the reader wishes to seek further information. In summary, the book contains a large amount of practical information concerning the measurement of specific steroids and as such it provides a useful reference text at a modest price. It is certainly a book to be recommended for the reference library but I doubt if it will find its way into many personal libraries.
Dr. G.J. Beckett Senior Lecturer, Department of Clinical Chemistty, The Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, EH3 9Y W, Scotland
*II***