Buy a full case and the price per unit drops automaticallyRequest a sample
AccountCart0
All ContainersBottlesJarsCaps & ClosuresPumps & SprayersTubs & PailsJugsDroppersTinsTubesAccessories
Industries
Personal CareShop all 934 items →
AromatherapyBathBath →Body careBody care →Color cosmeticsColor cosmetics →DeodorantDeodorant →FragranceFragrance →GroomingHair careLip careLip care →NailNail →Oral careOral care →Skin and faceSkin and face →Soap and washSoapmaking →Sun and protectionSun and protection →
Learn:BathBody careColor cosmeticsDeodorantFragranceLip careNailOral careSkin and faceSoapmakingSun and protectionEverything we have written →
Learn
Beekeeping100Hot sauce making90Jam and preserves96Pickles and ferments64Sauces and condiments36Syrups36Oils and vinegars34Nut butters and spreads33Dairy and alternatives33Coffee and tea36Confection31Resin and casting27Supplement liquids23Laboratory17Dispensing13Photography and darkroom14Industrial chemical14Prepared and deli15Body care14Color cosmetics13Bath14Pet health15Toiletry decanting14Oral care14Capsules and tablets14Nail14Fragrance15Deodorant17Fossils16Janitorial16Baking and dry goods16Seed storage17Specimens16Paint and ink18Automotive fluids18Wax melts17Diffusers17Detailing15Sun and protection18Dish and hand16Soapmaking91Candle making93Beverages92Cleaning products92Lip care89Minerals and rocks93Powders91Skin and face91Spices and seasoning91Findings and components16
All 1,895 pages we have written →
Laboratory
All Containers›Shop by use case›Laboratory›Handling›Reading Table IIShop all laboratory →
Handling

Reading Table II

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated

On this page8
Table II is four columns and once you can read a row you can specify a container, a preservative and a courier.

The columns

Parameter number and name, container, preservation, and maximum holding time. The table is titled Required Containers, Preservation Techniques, and Holding Times, and the word required is doing real work.

The container codes

  • P polyethylene.
  • FP fluoropolymer: PTFE, Teflon, or another fluoropolymer unless stated otherwise.
  • G glass.
  • PA any plastic made of a sterilizable material, polypropylene or another autoclavable plastic.
  • LDPE low density polyethylene.

Worked rows

Coliform, total, fecal and E. coli: PA or G, cool below 10 degrees C with sodium thiosulfate, eight hours. Acidity: P, FP or G, cool at or below six degrees, fourteen days. Ammonia: P, FP or G, cool and sulfuric acid to pH below 2, twenty-eight days. Acute and chronic toxicity: P, FP or G, cool, thirty-six hours.

Several containers are often permitted

Where a row lists P, FP and G, any of them satisfies it and you choose on cost, breakage and what else you are collecting. Where it lists one, you have no choice, and the bacterial rows are the obvious case.

Deviation is a formal process

The regulation provides for applying to use an alternate procedure, with a decision from the Regional Administrator, and it says an analyst may not modify preservation or holding time requirements unless those requirements are met. It is not a matter of local judgment.

The holding time is the buying constraint

An eight-hour holding time means a sample collected in the morning must be analyzed that day. That shapes the courier, the schedule and how many containers you need in the field, far more than the material does.

Footnotes carry real conditions

The superscript numbers against rows are not decoration: they qualify the container, the preservation or the time, sometimes substantially. Reading the row without the footnotes is how a requirement gets missed while appearing to have been followed.

References

40 CFR 136.3, Table II — Required Containers, Preservation Techniques, and Holding Times, which prescribes the container material, the preservation and the maximum holding time per parameter. Footnote 1 defines the codes: “P” is polyethylene, “FP” is fluoropolymer (PTFE), “G” is glass, “PA” is any plastic made of a sterilizable material. law.cornell.edu
Written from federal regulation, not from a bench. Where a method specifies a container, a preservative or a holding time, the method governs and nothing here overrides it. Read the method you are running rather than a summary of what methods generally say.