[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 45, Volume 3]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 45CFR674.5]



[Page 244-245]

 

                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE

 

                 CHAPTER VI--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

 

PART 674_ANTARCTIC METEORITES--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 674.5  Requirements for collection, handling, documentation, and 

curation of Antarctic meteorites.



    (a) Any person organizing an expedition to or within Antarctica, 

where one of the purposes of the expedition is to collect meteorites in 

Antarctica, shall ensure that the meteorites will be properly collected, 

documented, handled, and curated to preserve their scientific value. 

Curation includes making specimens available to bona fide scientific 

researchers on a timely basis, in accordance with specified procedures.

    (b) Expedition organizers described in paragraph (a) of this section 

shall develop and implement written procedures for the collection, 

documentation, and curation of specimens which include the following 

components:

    (1) Handling requirements. Handling procedures shall ensure that the 

specimens are properly labeled and handled to minimize the potential for 

contamination from the point of collection to the point of curation. At 

a minimum, handling procedures shall include:

    (i) Handling the samples with clean Teflon or polyethylene coated 

implements or stainless steel implements (or equivalent);

    (ii) Double bagging of samples in Teflon or polyethylene (or 

equivalent) bags;

    (iii) A unique sample identifier included with the sample;

    (iv) Keeping the samples frozen at or below -15 [deg]C until opened 

and thawed in a clean laboratory setting at the curation facility; and

    (v) Thawing in a clean, dry, non-reactive gas environment, such as 

nitrogen or argon.

    (2) Sample documentation. Documentation for each specimen, that 

includes, at a minimum:

    (i) A unique identifier for the sample;

    (ii) The date of find;

    (iii) The date of collection (if different from date of find);

    (iv) The latitude and longitude to within 500 meters of the location 

of the find and the name of the nearest named geographical feature;

    (v) The name, organizational affiliation, and address of the finder 

or the expedition organizer;

    (vi) A physical description of the specimen and of the location of 

the find; and

    (vii) Any observations of the collection activity, such as potential 

contamination of the specimen.

    (3) Curation. Make prior arrangements to ensure that any specimens 

collected in Antarctica will be maintained in a curatorial facility that 

will:

    (i) Preserve the specimens in a manner that precludes chemical or 

physical degradation;

    (ii) Produce an authoritative classification for meteorites that can 

be shown to belong to a well-established chemical and petrological 

group, and provide appropriate descriptions for those meteorites that 

cannot be shown to belong to an established chemical and petrological 

group;

    (iii) Develop and maintain curatorial records associated with the 

meteorites including collection information, authoritative 

classification, total known mass, information about handling and sample 

preparation activities that have been performed on the meteorite, and 

sub-sample information;

    (iv) Submit an appropriate summary of information about the 

meteorites to the Antarctic Master Directory via the National Antarctic 

Data Coordination Center as soon as possible, but no later than two 

years after receipt of samples at the curatorial facility;

    (v) Submit information on classification of the meteorite to an 

internationally recognized meteorite research catalog, such as the 

``Catalogue of Meteorites'' published by the Natural History Museum of 

London or the ``Meteoritical Bulletin'' published by the Meteoritical 

Society;

    (vi) Specify procedures by which requests for samples by bonafide 

scientific researchers will be handled;

    (vii) Make samples available to bonafide scientific researchers at 

no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable period of time; 

and

    (viii) In the event that the initial curatorial facility is no 

longer in a position to provide curation services for the specimens, or 

believes that the meteorites no longer merit curation, it shall consult 

with the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs



[[Page 245]]



to identify another appropriate curatorial facility, or to determine 

another appropriate arrangement.