<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Dirk’s
advice concerning the gas alarm is good, particularly the caution about false positives.
These alarms are usually very sensitive, which can be a problem with a fluid
preserved collection.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Checking the
air in the collection storage area for ethanol vapors is a fairly easy thing to
do, but requires specialized equipment. You need to contact an industrial hygienist
who has air sampling equipment (a gas monitor) and who can test for ethanol
vapors. This equipment is common used in industry and chemistry laboratories,
so it should not be difficult to find someone who can do the testing. Try to determine
which chemicals were used as denaturants, as these may affect the test results
for denatured ethanol. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">A cautionary
tale about testing: <span> </span>Several years ago when
I worked at a university museum, we stored part of our fluid-preserved specimens
on two floors of a building next door to the museum, and the floor above the
collection was occupied by several university offices. The office workers
noticed a strange smell and called the university health and safety office to
complain that they could smell formaldehyde from our collection. I explained that
we did not have any containers of formaldehyde in their building (that part of
the collection was kept in the museum) and that we had experienced no problems
with evaporation from the containers. However, because a complaint had been
filed the university safety officer had to investigate, so it was decided to sample
the air in the collection rooms for both ethanol and formaldehyde vapors. As I expected,
no ethanol or formaldehyde fumes were detected in the collection. Further
investigation revealed that what the odor that office workers were smelling came
from a dead bird inside an air conditioning unit. They had incorrectly presumed
the odor was formaldehyde because they knew the collection was on the two floors
below them.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">--John</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br><span></span></p>
</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br><i>and</i><br>Associate Curator of Collections<br>Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery<br>Penn State University<br><i>and</i><br>Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Jul 13, 2021 at 7:39 AM Lennart Lennuk <<a href="mailto:Lennart.Lennuk@loodusmuuseum.ee">Lennart.Lennuk@loodusmuuseum.ee</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div lang="ET">
<div class="gmail-m_-3017958773521133790WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Hi!<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Is there an easy way to measure ethanol/ denaturated ethanol concentrations in air?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Do you maybe know some automatic measurement device?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Best regards!<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Lennart Lennuk<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Head of collections<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Estonian Museum of Natural History<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">+372 6603404, 56569916<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
</div>
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