[Nhcoll-l] Best packing material for moving of wet collection jars

Tue Jun 20 21:09:33 EDT 2023

A big thank you to John, Dirk, Rob, Jill, Jean-Marc, Paul, Laura, and everyone who has chimed in to my request for help and recommendations.

Thanks to your help I've been able to send out a request for donation of specific packing materials to our college, and I'll forward all of your specific recommendations to our Safety Office so we can start the move planning process tomorrow.

Luckily this is summer time here in WY, and our temperature is not going to fluctuate as much as it could in the 6+ months of winter. I'll see if we can scrounge up a data logger, and we'll be as set as we can be with only 1 month to plan and move everything.

Fingers crossed we can pull this off, and we'll be able to work a couple collection improvements in from the move as well.

Again - a huge thank you!

cheers,
Beth

Elizabeth Wommack, PhD
Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates
University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
ewommack@<mailto:ewommack at berkeley.edu>uwyo.edu<http://uwyo.edu/>
pronouns: she, her, herself
www.uwymv.org<http://www.uwymv.org/>
UWYMV Collection Use Policy<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zH0_rDHQmerM4ZU7k2wu8UmRha6aC1Yo/view?usp=share_link>
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________________________________
From: John E Simmons <simmons.johne at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2023 8:16 AM
To: Rob Robins <rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu>
Cc: Elizabeth Wommack <ewommack at uwyo.edu>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Best packing material for moving of wet collection jars

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I agree with Rob about both the vermiculite and the adequacy of paper for padding. Many years ago, we moved two collections of fluid preserved specimens in glass jars from Miami, using newspaper to pad the jars in cardboard boxes, and drove them to Kansas. No broken jars in either move. These collections were both unloaded into a climate-controlled museum storage area, which is critical.

If you have the time, you should put a datalogger or two into the proposed temporary storage area and check what happens to the temperature on a 24-hr basis.

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
and
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Tue, Jun 20, 2023 at 9:48 AM Rob Robins <rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu<mailto:rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu>> wrote:
Hi Elizabeth,
Do not use vermiculite.

The respiratory hazards of vermiculite are substantial. Covered before on this list, but in summary:

·         No matter where it was mined from, vermiculite is likely to contain fibrous minerals.

·         That few of these types of fibrous minerals have been formally classified as asbestos and regulated as such would appear to be more a function of what fibers were in use commercially at the time the regulations were created. (Baumann, F., J. P. Ambrosi, and M. Carbone. 2013. Asbestos is not just asbestos: an unrecognized health hazard. The Lancet Vol 14 June 2013).

·         To be certain, vermiculite has at times been found to contain asbestiform amphiboles (groups of needlelike silicates clumped together) such as winchite, richterite, and tremolite, the latter of which is regulated (Sullivan, P. 2007. Vermiculite, respiratory disease, and asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana: Update of a cohort mortality study. Environmental Health Perspectives Apr; 115 (4): 579-585).

The Baumann paper concludes thusly, and I agree:

“The restricted regulatory definition of asbestos to six fibres used commercially contributes to miscommunication and uncertainty regarding the toxic effects of some fibrous minerals. We propose that all fibrous minerals be handled as potentially pathogenic until they are proven safe. Moreover, to protect human health, a wider regulatory definition of asbestos should include all potentially carcinogenic mineral fibres, without distinction of type and commercial use.”

We are moving the massive UF Fish Collection using dish barrel boxes and paper. Stuffing paper in between the layers of jars and in the larger voids is more than adequate. We have moved tens of thousands of containers this way, in approximately 500 boxes, with only 2 jars broken in the boxes to date. Boxes and paper can be reused multiple times (I.e., many small moves -- saves on staging space).

Feel free to contact me off list to discuss.

Best wishes,

Rob Robins

Robert H. Robins

Collection Manager

Division of Ichthyology

[FLMNH Fishes logo email small]

Florida Museum

1659 Museum Rd.

Gainesville, FL 32611-7800

Office: (352) 273-1957

rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu<mailto:rhrobins at flmnh.ufl.edu>

The UF Fish Collection is moving:

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/

Search the Collection:

http://specifyportal.flmnh.ufl.edu/fishes/

Search samples suitable for dna analysis:

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/grr/holdings/

________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> on behalf of Elizabeth Wommack <ewommack at uwyo.edu<mailto:ewommack at uwyo.edu>>
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2023 7:03 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Best packing material for moving of wet collection jars

[External Email]
The UWYMV has to do an emergency move of its wet collection to accommodate construction in the museum building.

We are working with our Safety Office to make sure the fluid specimens will be stored as safely as possible. The current plan is to package up each shelf into hard sided moving boxes, fill the space inbetween jars with vermiculite, and store the collection in the flammable liquid storage building until construction is completed.

I have read both Simmons 2014 and Coetzer et al. 2009, as well as gone through SPNHC's documentation on moving of collections. With our very limited time we will do the best we can for inventory, and make sure each jar is topped off before it goes into a box.

I could not find recommendations on boxing and packing material for movement of whole jars of fluid specimens however. Vermiculite was the recommendation of our Safety Office, since that is how they transport jars of chemicals safely. Does anyone know of adverse affects from vermiculite or a better easily accessible storage material we should be using?

Any thoughts and recommendations greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Beth Wommack

Elizabeth Wommack, PhD
Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates
University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
ewommack@<mailto:ewommack at berkeley.edu>uwyo.edu<http://uwyo.edu/>
pronouns: she, her, herself
www.uwymv.org<http://www.uwymv.org/>
UWYMV Collection Use Policy<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zH0_rDHQmerM4ZU7k2wu8UmRha6aC1Yo/view?usp=share_link>
[https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wzeBAm3ZshQCDFzQ5wkSAIelZLntGMwLQ0l3OaxGfoFH4PEQ-tYzlg1s7X9ScKxz1dFEGIXS8]
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