Page 55 - Jamaica Post Office Guide 1977

54 POST OFFICE GUIDE

General Information: Special Packing Regulations For Certain Articles, contd.

They shall be subject to the following special packing conditons:—
(a) perishable biological substances consisting of living pathogenic micro­
organisms or of living pathogenic viruses shall be enclosed in a bottle or
tube of glass or plastic material with thick sides, well stoppered, or in a
scaled phial.
This container shall be non-porous, and hermetically sealed. It shall be
surrounded with a thick and absorbent material (medicated cotton wool,
swan’s down cloth or flannelette) wrapped round the container several
times and bound both above and below it so as to form a sort of cocoon.
The container so wrapped shall be placed in a solid, well-fastened, metal
box. The absorbent material placed between the inner container and the
metal box shall be of sufficient quantity to absorb, in case of a breakage,
all the liquid contained, or capable of being formed, in the inner con­
tainer. The metal box shall be made and fastened in such a way as to make
any contamination of the outside of the box impossible. The metal box
itself shall be wrapped in cotton or spongy material and enclosed in its
turn in a protective box in such a way as to prevent any movement.
This outer protective box shall be hollowed out from a block of solid
wood, or shall be of metal, or may be of material and construction of
equivalent strength, and furnished with a well-fitting lid fastened so that
it cannot open in course of transmission. Special provision such as dry­
ing by freezing or packing in ice, shall be made to ensure the preser­
vation of substances sensitive to high temperatures. Air transmission,
which entails changes in atmospheric pressure, makes it necessary that
the packing be strong enough to withstand these variations in pressure.
Moreover, the outer box (as well as the outer wrapping if there is any)
shall be furnished on the side which bears the addresses of the officially
recognised laboratories sending and receiving the item, with a VIOLET
colour label with the following text and symbol;

dimensions 62 *
(2)" x 1l I

(b) perishable biological substances which contain neither living pathogenic
micro-organisms nor living pathogenic viruses shall be packed in an
inner non-porous container with an outer protective container and with
absorbent material placed either in the inner container or between the
outer and inner container; this material shall be of sufficient quantity to
absorb, in the case of breakage, all the liquid contained, or capable of
being formed, in the inner container. Moreover, the contents of the