Postal_Guide_September_1963 — Page 48

44 Packing and make-up

transmission. Special provision such as drying by freezing or packing in ice, shall be made to ensure the preservation of substances sensitive to high temperature. Air transmission, which entails changes in atmospheric pressure, makes it necessary that the packing should 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 recognized laboratories sending and receiving the item, with a violet coloured label with a special symbol and the following indications: "This label can be used only by officially recognized laboratories" "Perishable biological substances (for medical use)"; "Dangerous: Not to be opened in transit"; "No commercial value"; "Packed in accordance with the safety regulations of the international postal service";

(b) perishable biological substances which contain neither living pathogenic micro-organisms nor living pathogenic viruses shall be packed in an inner impermeable container with an outer protective container and with absorbent material placed in the inner container or between the outer and inner container; this material shall be of sufficient quantity to absorb, in case of a breakage, all the liquid contained, or capable of being formed in the inner container. Moreover, the contents of the inner as well as of the outer container shall be packed in such a way as to prevent any movement. Special provision, such as drying by freezing in ice, shall be made to ensure the preservation of substances sensitive to high temperatures. Air transmission, which entails changes of atmospheric pressure, makes it necessary, if the substances are packed in sealed phials or well stoppered bottles, that these containers should be strong enough to withstand variations in pressure. The outer container, as well as the outer wrapping of the item, shall be furnished on the side which bears the addresses of the laboratories sending and receiving it, with a violet coloured label with a special symbol and the following indications: "This label can be used only by officially recognized laboratories"; "Perishable biological substances (for medical use)"; "Not to be opened in transit"; "No commercial value"; "Packed in accordance with the safety regulations of the international postal service".

2. Any packet of the kind found in the parcel post or sample post, or found in the letter post not packed and marked as directed, will be at once stopped and destroyed with all its wrappings and enclosures. Further, any person who sends by post a deleterious liquid or substance for medical examination or analysis otherwise than as provided by these regulations is liable to prosecution.