== Uses and Toxicity of Osmium == 

 == Uses of Osmium == 
 - "Major uses for osmium tetroxide identified are for catalysis, especially in steroid synthesis, and for tissue staining." 
 Osmium: An Appraisal of Environmental Exposure 
 Environ Health Perspect. 1974 August; 8: 201–213. 
 http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1474945 

 - Nervous Tissue staining: 
 http://www.medicalhistology.us/twiki/bin/view/Main/NervousTissueAtlas04 

 - caoutchouc staining: 
 http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/english/publication/annual/1997/divisions/fore2-fig1.html 

  
 == Toxicity Osmium == 

 the vapor of osmium tetroxide is extraordinarily toxic with MAC as low as 0.002 ppm. 

 http://www2.ece.jhu.edu/faculty/andreou/WhitakerFacility/Content/LabSafety.pdf 
 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0473.html 
 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0528.html 
 http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+20816-12-0 
 http://www1.wfubmc.edu/EHS/Chemical+Safety/SOP/Osmium+Tetroxide.htm 

 - Procedure to neutralize Osmium Tetroxide with corn oil (corn oil is preffered because of its high percentage of unsaturated bonds) and Disposable   nitrile gloves (NOT latex).   

 http://synapse-web.org/lab/howto/protocols/osmiumtetroxide.stm 
 http://www.emsdiasum.com/microscopy/technical/techtips/osmium_tetroxide.aspx