[Nhcoll-l] Test for formalin

[Mandy Reid]

Thank you to all the people who responded regarding testing for formalin when you are unsure whether a specimen is stored in ethanol or formalin (particularly problematic in historic museum specimens). I had an excellent idea sent to me by colleagues from NIWA (The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand) that I would like to share. It is very simple, very inexpensive and it is very effective.

Simply draw a line of permanent marker on a strip of wet label paper. Dipped into a formalin solution, the marker stays intact. Dipped into an into an ethanol solution the marker starts running, or bleeding into the paper.

I tried it and it works perfectly. I have attached an image.

Cheers
Mandy

Dr Mandy Reid

Collection Manager, Malacology | Australian Museum Research Institute
Australian Museum  1 William Street Sydney NSW 2010 Australia
T 61 2 9320 6412 | M 61 431 829 842 | F 61 2 9320 6253

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