The lab-approved verdict: Autoclaving will probably ruin the earring, but a simple rinse in “any chemical that’s volatile, organic, and polar” will convince the formalin to get the heck out of the earring and into the solution. (Quote: “Look, lemme put it this way: has your forearm ever accidentally brushed against the cadaver? If so, did you cut it off?”)
Excellent.
Action Potential 
that is a very good point. i wanted to cut it off 🙂 lol. i’m glad your earring made it, though!
prions
Very true. Unfortunately, there’s just enough disregard for basic lab sanitation (i.e. gloved hands touching doors, tops of trash cans, the glove box itself) that we’d all have been exposed repeatedly already.