chemical safety during preparation

[Michael Gochfeld]

Jim Kruse describes getting a serious headache from using xylene, even 
in a well-ventilated space.  It's not clear why some people seem more 
sensitive to solvents at levels that others tolerate, but it's certainly 
adequate reason for substituting a less hazardous or less unpleasant 
material.  It may have to do with some vasoconstrictive response mediate 
by olfaction (such people tend to respond to a number of volatiles the 
same way). Or it may not!

I remember not liking xylene when we used it for cleaning microscope 
slides. It made me use as little as possible as infrequently as 
possible. 

Mike Gochfeld