[Nhcoll-l] Bouin's formula

[Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace)]

Hello all,

We have quite a few specimens (mostly macropod pouch young, turtle embryos and turtle organs) that have been preserved in Bouin's formula, which contains picric acid. I know that picric acid is explosive on impact, and so we are wary of the potential risk that the jars of those specimens may pose. However, I don't have any real understanding of what the actual risk of explosion might be... should these specimens and their jars be disposed of because opening them poses too much of a risk, or are the levels of picric acid so insignificant as to not pose a risk? Or is there some halfway point, but a way of safely opening the jars without calling the bomb squad? If any of you have thoughts or experience with this I would really appreciate it!

Cheers,

Tonya

-------------------------------------------------
Dr. Tonya M. Haff
Collection Manager
Australian National Wildlife Collection
CSIRO
+61(0)419569109
https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/collections/anwc

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