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Hi
I think the greatest worry here was that the samples were removed from the
dewar for a period of time long enough for the temperature rise to be
sufficient to damage the samples. Bear in mind that the pins were inside
aluminium pucks, not just attached to canes and therefore should be less
susceptible to short exposures to ambient temperatures. As Andrew said
though, this exposure to air additionally results in a layer of ice on the
pucks which can have adverse effects in sample changers.
I wonder if placing an explanatory note and a puck with a pin (or a photo of
these items) inside the shipping container (outside the dewar) which
security can access easily might help them understand what they see on their
X-ray images and perhaps deter them from removing the pucks (or canes) from
the dewar.
The ESRF biological safety officer has been in discussion with security,
customs, etc at airports and train stations within France to make them aware
of what our users are bringing in the way of equipment and biological
material but it is very hard to cover every point of exit and entry within
Europe. In the past (as a user) I would always contact the carrying company
(courier, airline) and the security people at the airport/train station I
would use on the trip to the synchrotron to warn in advance of materials
being carried. Having your tickets flagged with this information with the
airline has helped enormously when problems have been encountered with
airport security.
Regards
Dave Hall
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leslie A." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 11:15 AM
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We recently sent two dewars of crystals by DHL to ESRF for data
collection. On opening the dewars at the ESRF, it was obvious that the
dewars (or at least one of them) had been opened during transit. The
"groove" in the top to the dewar that accommodates the handle for the
basket had been ignored when the top was replaced, and the top had
clearly been forced back into the dewar, gouging out a new "groove".
The result was a significant accumulation of ice on the pucks, which
subsequently caused serious problems with the automatic sample
changer, which got jammed by the ice. In addition, and most
importantly, the diffraction from the crystals, which had been
carefully screened prior to the trip, was so poor that no useful data
could be collected.
Has anyone else had a similar experience ?
We used to secure the tops to the dewars with cable ties, but did not
do so on this trip. Following this experience we are tempted to use a
padlock, but this may provoke the use of greater force in opening the
dewar.
One worrying thought is that this is the first time that we have
transported the crystals in pucks rather than in canes. Is it possible
that the customs people are unaccustomed (excuse the pun) to seeing
pucks rather than canes, and that is why they wanted to investigate ?
Are customs officials the only people who would open a dewar in
transit ?
Is there any way that this can be avoided in the future ?
Any information/thoughts are greatly welcome
Matt Bowler and Andrew Leslie
