[NHCOLL-L:715] Re: HazMat shipping protocol

[John E. Simmons]

> >To best meet our museum's needs and their (and
> >EPA's, IATA's, etc.) requirements we are developing a protocol for
> >packaging and shipment of common museum chemicals associated with
> >specimens (alcohol, formalin, etc.) that meet all our needs and
> >requirements, and that will facilitate training of museum staff.  It
> >would simplify and accelerate our process if we could use another
> >museum's protocol as a template for our own.

I hate to say "don't go there," but really, don't go there!  When you start
talking about mailing alcohol and formalin, if you are not very careful you
are going to have a large pile of inappropriate regulations dumped on your
head.  What you need to stress to your HazMat people is that you send
very minute amounts of greatly diluted alcohol and formaldehyde, well
packaged up, etc.

One of my great fears is that sooner or later some postal official will
decide that our packages are really dangerous (they are not) and start
making us ship under HazMat regs, which would be horribly expensive.

On customs forms and such I always just list it as "preserved scientific
specimens" or "preservative fluid."

--John Simmons