[NHCOLL-L:4094] RE: Possible replacement to alcohol storage?

[Makos, Kathryn]

I want to clarify a statement in the press release embedded in
Christine's original posting:

"Post 911, Smithsonian realized that the total volume of alcohol used to
preserve specimens in its collections had approximately the explosive
power of a fully loaded 747. So, a non-volatile fluid that didn't bleach
or stain tissue and didn't cloud up over time was of great interest."

Actually, the need to find a non-flammable display fluid was based
primarily on fire safety and fire prevention concerns over that much
volume of alcohol on public display.  That concern would have been on
the table even before 911, which just served to heighten awareness of
the risk. Other museums will need to consult with their local fire
marshall and building code authorities on this matter. 


Kathryn A. Makos, MPH CIH 
Industrial Hygienist
 
Smithsonian Institution
Office of Safety, Health & Environmental Management
600 Maryland Ave, SW, Suite 7106
MRC 514 PO Box 37012
Washington DC 20013-7012
 
T: 202-633-2670
F: 202-633-2683
makosk at si.edu
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Furth, David 
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 1:08 PM
To: bradh at rom.on.ca; NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu; delre at mpm.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4092] Re: Possible replacement to alcohol storage?

You might consider propylene glycol or propylene phenoxytol.  They are
certainly less expensive than the Novec fluid and less problematic.

________________________________

From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu on behalf of Brad Hubley
Sent: Thu 11/27/2008 9:39 AM
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu; delre at mpm.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4091] Re: Possible replacement to alcohol storage?


If anyone has any experience working with this fluid for the
preservation of natural history specimens, would you mind posting it to
the list?  We are looking for alternatives to ethyl alcohol as a storage
medium for gallery specimens.
 
Thanks very much,
Brad
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  Brad Hubley
  Entomology Collection Manager
  Department of Natural History
  Royal Ontario Museum
  100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario           
  Canada    M5S 2C6

  Phone:  1-416-586-5764 
  FAX:      1-416-586-5553 
  email:  bradh at rom.on.ca 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>>> "Del Re, Christine" <delre at mpm.edu> 11/26/2008 4:37 PM >>>


Is anyone familiar with this new alcohol storage replacement, and what
it can do to the scientific utility of specimens vs. the materials we
are more familiar with?  I understand it is being used at the
Smithsonian and would interested to hear from anyone there involved, or
if any testing has been done.

 

Thank you in advance, Chris Del Re

 

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Novec/Home/Solutions/Museum/
#specimens

 

Calamari in Smithsonian's new Ocean Hall

Back in August, the area science writer's group got a sneak preview of
the Smithsonian's new Sant Ocean Hall, which opened in September. The
main reason was super-sized calamari - a 25-foot-long female specimen of
a giant squid. This is calamari that would happily eat you - or another
giant squid. Our expert said they tend to congregate in groups of about
the same body size, which minimizes the threat of being eaten by one's
neighbor.
The Smithsonian used a new technology developed by 3M to preserve it.
The fluid, called Novec, was originally developed as an
electronics-friendly fire suppressant. One representative said they had
operated laptop computers that were completely immersed in the stuff;
another said one researcher had tossed a cell phone into it and called
himself.  

Post 911, Smithsonian realized that the total volume of alcohol used to
preserve specimens in its collections had approximately the explosive
power of a fully loaded  747. So, a non-volatile fluid that didn't
bleach or stain tissue and didn't cloud up over time was of great
interest.