NEW FSSA WHITE PAPER AVAILABLE: Wet Collections Fire Protection: An Overview
Released January 21, 2025
Wet collections are natural history specimens immersed in liquid preservative solutions and typically stored or displayed in glass or plastic containers. The preservative solutions are predominantly ethanol, formalin or isopropanol.
The primary purpose of wet collections is for scientific research. In some instances, wet collections may be of species that are rare or extinct. These collections are not only irreplaceable, but they are also inherently hazardous to store and handle without proper precautions.
The liquid mediums used for specimen preservation, in almost all situations, will be ignitable liquids and are classified based on flashpoint. The containers used to store the specimens can range in size from small vials containing ounces of liquid, to large jars, drums or tanks containing gallons of liquid. The most difficult challenge in assessing the severity of wet collection hazards is that the applied practices amongst the different organizations vary to great extents. In addition, the composition of the ignitable liquid solutions can evolve over time as specimens are studied and maintained.
