Sending Samples

Packaging, Sending, and Billing Instructions

HOW TO SEND SAMPLES

PAYMENT TERMS

GENERAL SAMPLE SIZE REQUIREMENTS

SAMPLE DATA SHEET

The final report package includes the final date report, a statement outlining our analytical procedures, a glossary of pretreatment terms, calendar calibration information, billing documents (containing balance/credit information and the number of samples submitted within the yearly discount period), and peripheral items to use with future submittals. The final report includes the individual analysis method, the delivery basis, the material type and the individual pretreatments applied. The final report will be sent by mail, fax or e-mail, where available.

HOW TO SEND SAMPLES

We recommend First Class Airmail or an express courier service such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, or TNT. Overseas shipments should label the package contents as "GEOLOGICAL SAMPLES FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY - NO COMMERCIAL VALUE- WILL BE DESTROYED IN THE ANALYSIS".

Ship samples to any of these facilities:
North American Facility (Headquarters) Beta Analytic Inc. 4985 SW 74th Court Miami, Florida 33155 USA Tel: (1) 305-667-5167 Fax: (1) 305-663-0964 Email: beta@radiocarbon.com	European Forwarding Facility (Sample Shipping Only) Beta Analytic Limited London BioScience Innovation Centre 2 Royal College Street London NW10NH United Kingdom Tel: (44) 20 7617 7490 Email: info@radiocarbon.eu
Japan Representative Chikyu Kagaku Kenkyusho Corp. 1-608 Ueda-Honmachi Tenpaku-ku Nagoya 468-0007 Japan Tel: (81) 52 802 0703 Fax: (81) 52 805 6383 Email: geoinfo@geolab.co.jp	Chinese Representative Beta Analytic Inc. 5/F South Block Tower C, Raycom InfoTech Park No.2 KeXueYuan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190 China Tel: +86 (10) 8418-1950 Fax: +86 (10) 5982 2196 Email: info@radiocarbon.cn

Each sample should be clearly marked with a unique sample code number of your choosing. This will be the identifier on your final report.

PRE-SUBMITTAL SAMPLE HANDLING AND TREATMENTS

Carbonates: Directly handling of carbonate samples will not effect the results. Since the CaCO3 portion is used for the analysis, contamination from hand oils and other organic matter is not relevent. Only other carbonates will effect the results.

Organic Material : Organic samples should not be handled with bare hands (since your body oils will add contamination to the material). Any washed plastic glove contact is fine. Washing the sample in potable water is also fine (albeit distilled is recommended). Avoid contact with paper.

Concentration and pre-submittal treatments. Prices presume the material being submitted is in a concentrated form. You do not need to remove attached sediments and adhering organics. However, loose sediments in large quantities will incur supplemental fees so it is recommended you remove the bulk of extraneous matrix. One-time use of the type of screening material available at the hardware store for porches is fine. The screen should be rinsed first to remove dusts. When using laboratory screens, ensure they are completely clean prior to use with another sample.

You do not need to dry the sample, but knowing the dry weight will better allow you to estimate the amount of material to send. Sending wet samples is fine. We start the analyses immediately upon arrival, so moisture will not induce contamination. If you do dry it, 90 - 100 C for 4-24 hours is recommended.

Recommended packaging. Place larger samples directly into zip lock bags. The bags will not contaminate the sample. Finer and small samples should be wrapped in aluminum foil to keep contained. Place each al foil pouch into a labelled zip lock bag.

Always only handle one sample at a time. Begin and end the packaging process for each sample prior to beginning the next. This will best ensure mix-ups are avoided during packaging.

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PAYMENT TERMS

CONTACT THE LABORATORY FOR UP-TO-DATE PRICES

Send pricing request to Darden Hood dhood@radiocarbon.com

Payment inquiries should be sent to Ms. Lety Cerda (Lcerda@radiocarbon.com)

IMPORTANT : Beta Analytic Inc. does not sign sub-contracts. All analyses are performed on a PRIME contract basis, without obligation for shared receivables or pass-through requirements imposed upon the submitter by third parties.

We recommend payment by credit card. Charges are made upon completion of analysis and reporting of the results. Wire transfers and check payments against invoices are accepted under the terms listed below. Wire transfer information is provided upon request. Credit card information may be included on the on-line forms (over SSL) or a faxed credit card authorization form (supplied upon request).

Universities and Government Agencies: Credit card payment is welcome. Alternatively, a purchase order (PO) or contract number may be included with the samples and an invoice will be sent upon completion of the analyses. If your office does not use POs, please indicate the preferred billing procedure. In cases where an invoice is needed, we will be glad to pretreat the samples to determine the exact cost, then send an invoice, and continue to complete the analyses immediately when payment is received.

Companies, private Individuals and third party, non-university payors : Payment is requested prior to reporting. Credit card authorization can be made via the on-line datasheets which include fields at the bottom of the form for credit card details. In cases where an invoice is needed, we will be glad to pretreat the samples to determine the exact cost, send an invoice at that time, and then continue to complete the analyses immediately when payment is received. Pro forma (advance) invoices are available upon request. Note that quoted delivery dates sent upon receipt of the samples apply only in the absence of procurement delays.

Third Party University or Governmental Payments: The third party payor needs to provide documentation (email, letter, fax, etc.) stating that they will accept responsibility for all fees and costs incurred in the dating process. Beware that changes in prescriptions for analysis are routine and do affect the cost. It is the responsibility of the submitter to communicate any cost changes to the third party payor. Beta will proceed with the dating utilizing changes authorized by the submitter and charge the payor accordingly.

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SAMPLE MATERIALS AND QUANTITIES NEEDED

A COMMENT ON BONES: Non-cremated bones incur the Collagen Extraction Fee and cremated bones incur the Bone Carbonate Fee in addition to the standard price. Bones are dated only by AMS analysis. See RECOMMENDED QUANTITIES below.

A COMMENT ON RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS WITH EXTENDED COUNTING vs. AMS DATING : Extended counting only applies to radiometric analysis. It will improve precision. However, AMS is recommended over extended counting for small samples since it typically gives 2 times better precision than that provided by radiometric analysis with extended counting (e.g. 4000 +/- 40-50 BP AMS vs. 4000 +/- 90-100 BP RM+EC). We recommend extended counting for radiometric samples with less than 3 grams final carbon so that the precision associated with the dates will better equal the higher precision provided with AMS dates."Final carbon" is the amount of actual carbon available for analysis after performing the necessary chemical and mechanical pretreatments (and is usually uknown before the pretreatments). When contacted by our staff with your options for small sample analysis, remember that the choice is yours to make. Recommendations are made solely on the basis of keeping you informed of what options will provide you with the best possible precision. We recognize in some cases best possible precision is not required to answer your research questions.

A COMMENT ON SUBMITTING BULK/LOW CARBON SEDIMENTS AND PEATS : Options for dating bulk sediments include (1) bulk date on the total carbon in the collected sediment (less carbonates, roots, and rootlets), (2) extract a significant peaty, wood, or charcoal fraction from within the matrix (3) isolate a single identifiable component in very small quantity within the sediment (soot, charcoal, twig, leaf, etc) or (4) date a thin section of the profile to obtain the highest possible vertical resolution in the absence of identifiable organics.

Ideally, one hopes to obtain a single, short lived, identifiable fragment which can be traced to origin. Dates on a leaf, for example, are applied to a single component which has been fully pretreated. The only real subjectivity is the source of the leaf. A bulk date on total organics within the sediment may reflect an open system scenario (where carbon has moved in and out), and be limited on the amount of applied pretreatments (alkali to remove secondary humic acids is often not possible since it dissolves all the available carbon).

Since sediments are received in bulk, the option for dating is not always known at the start. For this reason, bulk/low carbon sediments weighing more than 200 grams are charged the AMS price to provide the most flexibility in providing you with the best available result.

General Sample Size Requirements

Recommended quantities are conservative. Smaller quantities can be analyzed. In some cases, much smaller. You are welcome to contact us to discuss your options prior to sending your samples. And you are welcome to send the available quantity to us with instructions to contact you regarding the prescribed analysis.

MATERIAL	AMS				RADIOMETRIC
	Conservative Recommendation				Conservative Recommendation
Charcoal	50 mg				20 grams
Wood	50 mg				50 grams
Dung	50 mg				20 grams
Plant / seeds	20 mg				20 grams
Peat / Gyttja	1-2 mg				100 grams
Shell/Coral/CaCO3	50 mg				50 grams
Organic Sediment	2-5 grams				< 1000 grams
Insect (chitin)	20 mg				20 grams
Hair	20 mg				10 grams
Fish Otolith	5-10 mg				Not available
Bone / Antler	2-10 grams				Not available
Teeth	1 tooth				Not available
Burned/cremated bone	4 grams				Not available
Phytoliths (extracted) *	200 mg				Not available
Pollen (extracted) *	20 mg				Not available
Forams *	20 mg				Not available
Water DIC as SrCO3 *	50 mg				30 grams
Water	1 liter				not available
Quantities assume the material is dry and free associated matrix.  Wet and/or dirty samples require sending as much as is available.				* Laboratory pretreatments are not possible.

Visits to Beta Laboratories: If you are going to be in the Miami Area, please call ahead to arrange a tour of our dating facilities. Visits by our clients are always welcomed.

Limitation of Damages-Repayment of Service Price: It is agreed that in the event of breach of any warranty or breach of contract, or negligence of Beta Analytic Ltd., as well as its agents or representatives, the liability of Beta Analytic Ltd., shall be limited to the repayment, to the purchaser (submitter), of the inidividual analysis price paid by him/her to Beta Analytic Ltd. Beta Analytic Ltd., shall not be liable for any damages, either direct or consequential.

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