[Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers

Thu Sep 10 02:05:33 EDT 2020

Hi Charles & Tonya,

heat sealing is an _obligatory packaging requirement_ for IATA conform 
shipping of ethanol preserved museum specimens, trained staff for heat 
sealing as well. This means - and we received clear language on this 
point from the dangerous goods division of our national air aviation 
authority - that if customs or parcel companies do open such heat sealed 
packings, they are obliged to close these in IATA conform manner again, 
as the IATA/ICAO stipulations also apply to them.

In real life this often is neglected of course, but opens the door for 
charges against for example inspection costs against parcel companies, 
which usually open consignments for inspection (this is rarely done by 
customs staff but done through courier staff).

We always carry a slim household vacuum sealer for field work to make 
sure we can heat seal the bagged boxed with tissue tubes again. Tissue 
boxes are double bagged and sealed as required by IATA Special Provision 
A180, PE-bags are sufficiently large when going to the field to allow 
re-usage of bags for the return flight.

With best wishes
Dirk

Am 10.09.2020 um 01:11 schrieb Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace):
>
> On this topic, has anyone ever had the problem of customs officials 
> opening the bag to inspect the contents, and then the bag not being 
> resealed (and specimen drying out)? Seems to me the one potential 
> downside of heat sealing.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tonya
>
> *From:*Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of 
> *Bentley, Andrew Charles
> *Sent:* Thursday, 10 September 2020 2:30 AM
> *To:* Charles M. Dardia <cmd7 at cornell.edu>
> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers
>
> Charles
>
> No, have never used a vacuum sealer and not sure if it would have any 
> adverse effects on the specimens – maybe drawing moisture and 
> preservative out of the specimens during shipping or maybe even 
> damaging small bones or cartilaginous structures in the specimen due 
> to shrinkage.  I guess you could stop the vacuum process before it 
> gets to that point?  I usually use a regular bag sealer for fish and 
> leave a small amount of air in the bag to act as a pillow of 
> protection for the specimens inside – even though we also use packing 
> peanuts and a sturdy box when shipping.
>
> Andy
>
> A  :                A  :               A  :
>
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>
> V                   V                  V
>
> Andy Bentley
>
> Ichthyology Collection Manager
>
> University of Kansas
>
> Biodiversity Institute
>
> Dyche Hall
>
> 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
>
> Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
>
> USA
>
> Tel: (785) 864-3863
>
> Fax: (785) 864-5335
>
> Email: abentley at ku.edu <mailto:abentley at ku.edu>
>
> http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu 
> <http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/>
>
> A  :                A  :                A  :
>
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>
> V                   V                   V
>
> *From: *Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu 
> <mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> on behalf of Charles 
> Dardia <cmd7 at cornell.edu <mailto:cmd7 at cornell.edu>>
> *Date: *Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM
> *To: *"nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>" 
> <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>>
> *Subject: *[Nhcoll-l] vacuum sealers
>
> Has any one had success using a vacuum sealer to prepare loans of wet 
> specimens (fish) for shipping?
>
> Charles
>
> Charles M. Dardia
>
> Collections Manager
>
> Cornell Museum of Vertebrates
>
> 159 Sapsucker Woods Road
>
> Ithaca, NY 14850
>
> (607) 254-2161
>
> http://cumv.cornell.edu/ 
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcumv.cornell.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C7d49c0898b7e41e9a93208d854db2c95%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C637352647609135345&sdata=AkCaDRtqu%2BHvImkYCDlK6mUZr8jDteMAjElxXrv5E5M%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
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-- 

Dirk Neumann

Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
neumann(a)snsb.de

Postanschrift:

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage
Münchhausenstr. 21
81247 München

Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/

---------

Dirk Neumann

Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
neumann(a)snsb.de

postal address:

Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich (Germany)

Visit our section at:
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