[NHCOLL-L:3932] FW: FedEx and frozen specimens

[Bentley, Andrew Charles]

Hi all

See below, more information from FedEx on frozen tissues through Ellen Paul.

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager/Specify Usability Lead
University of Kansas
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335
Email: ABentley at ku.edu       
                                                
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________________________________

From: Ellen Paul [mailto:ellen.paul at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 1:08 PM
To: Bulletin Board for Bird Collections and Curators
Cc: Bentley, Andrew Charles
Subject: FedEx and frozen specimens

Finally got an answer on the frozen specimens (sorry, Scott and others for the delay, but it takes some time to reach the right person at FedEx). Huge thanks to FedEx for continuing to work with us on these matters.

So, the deal is that FedEx Express -the regular, every-day kind of FedEx service - is simply not equipped to handle perishables. When you think about it, that makes sense - they can do what they do, at the price they do it, because everything is very routine and automated. An item that requires special handling just won't work in a system like that.

There are some options:

1. Under FedEx International Priority, you can choose "broker select" - which means that they ship to a broker of your choice, and that broker of course handles the package once it arrives, including clearance through USFWS, Ag Inspections, and then shipment on to you. You of course would arrange with the broker for the special handling needed for perishable materials.

2. Use FedEx Custom Critical. Expensive, but worth looking into. Probably not more - or not significantly more - than using customs brokers. If you use this option, it means setting things up quite far in advance. You can't just walk in and drop something off. They set up the entire chain of events in advance so that everything will work smoothly, and this service is point-to-point, meaning that the shipment will end up at your doorstep, and not just at the airport. http://customcritical.fedex.com/

3. Use customs brokers at both ends (this is not a FedEx service; this is just an option for international shipments, whether the materials are perishable or not, but the expense may not be justified if the materials are not perishable).

4. Sign a liability release that says that FedEx is not responsible for the condition of the materials.

Some airlines will not carry dry ice. We had this problem when trying to send blood samples from Mexico. If you are in a major city, and the material is going on a FedEx plane, this is not a problem, because FedEx will carry dry ice. However, if it is a smaller city, and the material is going on another plane under FedEx contract, you may have a problem using dry ice.

As I understand it, dry shippers are basically good for a day or two at liquid nitrogen temps, but how long do they keep material frozen in total? I am googling dry shippers, dewar bottles, and cryovac bottles and most don't say. There's a National Cancer Institute website that says "Storage temperature inside the shipping cavity remains at approximately -150°C for several days until the liquid nitrogen evaporates from the absorbent material."

Even so, you run a risk of something getting held up in the clearance process. So say it takes a day to get from wherever to the U.S., and two days to clear USFWS, USDA, Customs, and then another day to get to you. So if all goes well, that's four days. But I've worked with several of you to "unstick" shipments in JFK and LA where it took several days (in one case, over a week). To be honest, I am not sure that a Customs Broker could solve some of the problems we've had to solve, or any faster than we've solved them, but at least you would have an expert on site - a person you could reach - who could stay on top of it. Any of you who have tried to reach a live human being at USFWS or CPB at an airport know how hard that can be!

-- 




Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
ellen.paul at verizon.net
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET 

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