[Nhcoll-l] Recommendations on ethanol use in natural history collections

[Nickson Otieno]

Just a little point, that for any specimens from which that you might later
wish to derive tissues for purposes of stable isotope analyses,
preservation in ethanol of any kind, would significantly distort the
isotooic signatures (particularly for the case of isotopes of nitrogen).

Nickson Otienio
National Museums of Kenya





On Thu, Apr 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM Annika Sander <
annika.sander at vestfoldmuseene.no> wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
> I am seeking specific recommendations regarding the use of undenatured
> ethanol for wet specimens, as well as references addressing any potentially
> harmful effects of denatured ethanol on such specimens.
> The background is as follows:
> We are a regional museum in Norway with an important collection of wet
> specimens, particularly whale foetuses and other specimens related to
> whaling. As is common in wet collections, our specimens gradually lose
> preservation fluid over time. In order to replenish the jars, we need to
> procure undenatured ethanol.
> In Norway, this type of ethanol is subject to specific taxation
> regulations. To be registered with the relevant authorities and obtain
> access, we are required to provide documentation demonstrating the
> necessity of using undenatured ethanol. This is further complicated by the
> fact that we are not a university, laboratory, or scientific institution,
> which would otherwise have more straightforward access to such materials.
> Previously, a taxidermist carried out the refilling and transfer from
> older preservation fluids to ethanol, but this is no longer an option.
> Any recommendations for relevant literature or other guidance on how to
> deal with this would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> *Annika Sander,*
>
> Conservator (wood and furniture)
>
>
>
> Dep. Archives and Collections
>
> phone: +47 981 87 851
>
> e-mail: *annika.sander at vestfoldmuseene.no*
> <annika.sander at vestfoldmuseene.no>
>
>
>
> Vestfoldmuseene IKS
>
> *www.vestfoldmuseene.no* <http://www.vestfoldmuseene.no/>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20260409/e0b2a10c/attachment.html>