Shipping of Biological Samples – Intra Canada

FedEx &/or Eve Holiday closures 2023: Sep. 30 (National Truth – FedEx closed), Oct. 9 (Thanksgiving), Nov. 13 (Remembrance Day), Christmas Dec. 23 – Jan. 01.

• • • Process samples according to Eve Tech’s guide (ie. Centrifuge then aliquot required volume from the middle of the liquid into a 0.5 – 0.65mL polypropylene snap-cap tube).
    • Samples packaged appropriately (ie. Place 0.5 – 0.65mL snap-cap tubes in a 96 well sample box and placed in a sealable bag along with absorbent material).
    • Dry-ice (5-10 kg). See “How much Dry Ice Should I Use?” below.
    • Place your Eve Tech Packing Slip INSIDE the outer cardboard box (either on top of the Styrofoam lid or inside the Styrofoam box).
    • Class 9 Dry-ice label (UN 1845) on outer packaging (with weights and addresses filled in).
    • In addition to the waybill, your address and the recipient address must be on the box in case the waybill is misplaced. This can be on the dry-ice label but we recommend using our “Shipping Label” (found in Appendix C – Shipping Forms PDF).
    • Exempt Human Specimens or Exempt Animal Specimens Label on outer packaging (if samples are non-infectious).
    • Document pouch adhered to outer packaging to hold the following:

Intra-Canada Waybill

• • • Fill in your (FedEx) account number and under the “Payment” section, indicate all transportation charges are to be paid by the sender.
    • Enter $1.00 as the declared value.

Triple Packaging:

1. Primary container (ie 0.5 – 0.65 mL sample tubes):
   • Leak-proof
2. Secondary container / sample tube box:

• Leak-proof. (Examples: sample tube box inside a sealed plastic bag or screw-cap canister.)
• Absorbent material must be placed between the primary and secondary containers to absorb entire contents of the primary containers. (Examples: paper towels, cotton balls, cellulose wadding.)

1. Outer Packaging:

• Styrofoam® insulated boxes with a corrugated fiberboard outer box is the recommended outer packaging. Must be large enough to fit 5-10 kg of dry-ice.

**Styrofoam® without an outer box is not acceptable outer packaging.

Labeling Packages:

• For non-infectious specimen(s) label outer package as “Exempt Human Specimen” or “Exempt Animal Specimen” (Appendix A, Figure 3).
• If shipping with dry ice, the outer package must have a Class 9 label (Appendix A, Figure 2) that is marked with the proper shipping name (‘Dry Ice’), UN number (UN1845), net quantity (ex. 3 kg), and contact info. *Please use a label from your own shipping department if possible.

Delays

Shipping delays can happen, but if you prepare for them, your samples will arrive in good condition.

Reasons for Delays:

• Improperly filled out paper work.
• Missing paper work.

Reasons for Logistical Delays:

Logistical Delays are very rare –  However, it can happen.  Here are some examples:

• Airport closures (ie weather).
• Shipping company delays (mechanical issues or shipping error).

If your area is experiencing extreme weather that will result in airport delays or airport closures, we recommend waiting to send you samples.

Hedging Against the Risk of Delays:

The most important step you can take to avoid the negative aspects associated with delayed shipments is to ensure your samples are shipped with a generous amount of dry-ice.The costs of using more dry ice (ie. larger box and more weight) is worth ensuring your sample’s integrity.

How Much Dry-Ice Should You Use?

Since there are many variables involved in shipping (such as Styrofoam® box wall thickness, shape of dry-ice, shipping temperatures, etc.) it is difficult to accurately know the sublimation rate of your dry-ice.  Pellet-style dry-ice sublimates quicker than brick-style dry-ice.  In one of our mock shipments, an insulated box (11” x 9” x 9” with a 1 ^3/8” wall thickness) contained 3.1 kg of pellet-style dry-ice which sublimated at a rate of 1 – 1.5 kg per 24 hours.  We do recommend using a min. of 5 kg.

We recommend using a minimum of 5 kg of dry ice for overnight shipments.

Dry-Ice Guidelines

• Make sure the package containing the dry-ice is not air tight to allow the escape of carbon dioxide gas. (Example: If you are shipping samples with dry ice in a Styrofoam® container, do not tape around all edges of the lid.)
• The primary and secondary packaging must be secure as the dry ice sublimates.

**Training is required when shipping sample with dry ice, contact the Safety Office at your institution for more information

Waybill Guidelines

This Waybill section is specific for shipping with FedEx using FedEx’s Intra-Canada Waybill.  If you are not shipping with FedEx, consult the shipping company for more information.

• In describing the contents state the species and sample type and include the phrase ‘non-infectious, no commercial value’.
• Enter $1.00 as the declared value.
• If you are using dry-ice, check the “Yes. Shipper’s Declaration not required” box under the ‘Special Handling’ section.
• Fill in the amount of dry ice (kg) used.
• If you are not shipping with dry-ice and if your samples are non-infectious, mark ‘No’ for the ‘Does this shipment contain dangerous goods?’ question.
• Under the ‘Payment’ heading mark the ‘sender’ box to indicate that transportation charges are to be paid by the sender.
• Write your account number in the ‘Payment’ section.  Any shipping charges incurred by Eve Tech will be added to your invoice.