Contact us anytime. We respond to inquiries promptly during business hours (8 AM-5 PM EST, Monday-Friday).
Beta Analytic is a tracer-free laboratory. Beta Analytic clients who submit samples with artificial/labeled/tracer Carbon-14 will be liable for the damage and clean-up costs as per our Terms and Conditions of Services.
Materials suitable for garbage disposal:
– Solids
– Liquids
1 mL glass micro-sample vial with a crimp top that has a Teflon-lined septum. The vial should only be ¼ – ½ full.
Make sure the vials have snap caps or any tight closure that will prevent leakage. You can also use vials found at this site. Wrap the vials properly to prevent breakage during shipment.
Please make sure the vials have chemically non-reactive seals, e.g. made of a silicone disk with one or two teflon faces. If you use low-volume screw top vials like the amber one above, make sure they have a non-reactive cap liner made from silicone and teflon or some other chemically non-reactive material. Do not use vials that have caps lined with a piece of cardboard with an Aluminum-foil face on one side. The cardboard side is glued to the cap. These are not suitable for volatile liquids as the vapors can dissolve the glue and contaminate the sample during shipment.
NOTE: If the sample contains VOCs, the vial should be full (no head space).
Materials NOT SUITABLE for garbage disposal – Please contact the lab for discussion prior to submittal.
Please note if there are volatile components with the samples being sent.
The lab does not need information that you feel may breach the confidentiality of your product.
When sending directly to Miami, please use this label for customs declaration: “Carbon NCM Number 2803.00 – for scientific study – to be destroyed entirely during the analysis – no commercial value.”
Customs and carriage value: 1 USD
Harmonized Tariff Number (HS code) – 280300
Please make sure that the shipping company you choose takes full responsibility to clear the package with US customs when sending samples directly to the US. You are welcome to contact us for shipping advice.
Note: Beta is not responsible for the clearance or transportation costs of international shipments not sent through one of our forwarding offices. Shipments arranged through a freight forwarder must be sent under DDP terms. The shipper is responsible for handling the administrative requirements to release the shipment.
Analyses are started immediately upon receipt of samples to best ensure we meet our promised delivery. This means that charges are also incurred immediately upon receipt of samples. Change orders are welcome, but please be aware that partial or full charges will apply based on how much work has been completed by the time of the change request.
Beta Analytic has no minimum number of samples required. We provide one report with a unique certificate number for each sample.
For research and development, one measurement is fine. If you are submitting samples for certification or regulatory compliance, please consult the governing agencies regarding their required number of test samples before submission.
Accurate analysis requires recovery of all available carbon within the product. If the biobased (“natural”) component is volatile and the synthetic, petroleum-derived component is not, the measured biobased content for the product will be too low if the volatiles are not recovered in the same proportion as the non-volatile petroleum-derived components. Special procedures are readily applied to handle such samples but Beta needs to be aware of the need. It is the submitter’s sole responsibility to provide the laboratory with this information.
It is very important to inform us before shipping hazardous samples so we can give you the correct instructions and shipping address. Samples need to be shipped to the US if they are designated as hazardous by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Hazardous substances with IATA Excepted Quantity Codes E1, E2, E4 or E5 and those in Packing Groups II and III qualify for De Minimis shipping. To ship as De Minimis to our Miami office, the sample volume must not exceed 1 mL and the packaging must follow the guidelines in the Dangerous Goods Regulations, being sufficiently absorbent in case of leakage and sturdy enough to prevent breakage. No special labelling is required for De Minimis shipping. For detailed information, please consult the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations.
A Beta representative will contact you to confirm the safe arrival of your samples in MIAMI and to quote you a delivery date for the results. Our quoted turnaround time starts following the day of receipt at the Miami laboratory excluding weekends.
Samples being delivered to the lab after 3PM EST will be logged in the system the following day.
Chemicals must include SDS/MSDS. We must have a copy on file.
FAQ: Natural vs Synthetic Testing by Carbon-14 Analysis
Page last updated: November 2023
