Shipping Directions
SHIPPING ITEMS TO MAESTRO
All shipments to the MAESTRO beamline must conform to the rules below (and associated links) and MUST be documented on this FORM.
Many times a year we receive samples in the mail from users, in order to hold for future beam time or perhaps for the staff to make some measurements or mount/treat them without the users present. In order for us to keep track of them, we are requiring users to submit a simple form with all required fields containing valid information, and documentation of each sample: number, action required, staff member contacted, etc.
Only non-hazardous materials may be sent this way. The determination of what is hazardous is gover by your institution's local shipping rules, your state/national rules, the US Department of Transportation (for ground shipping), International Air Transport Association (IATA, for air shipments), and ALS's website and contained links.
Please follow these best practices when shipping to us:
1-Give each sample a unique ID number for our lab notebooks, and for each user group please consistently use one and only one PI (group leader name).
2-Your samples are precious to us, if they are precious to you then we kindly request that samples be shipped in NEW boxes or envelopes--repurposing old boxes with unrelated labels, icons, images, is a recipe for lost or misdirected packages. Our shipping department has been known to redirect old laser toner boxes directly to recycling, for example.
3- "NEXT DAY" deliveries typically take 2 days to reach us. An extra day can be needed for LBNL internal mail to reach our offices.
4-NO DELIVERIES are received on Saturdays. If you pay for "Saturday" delivery, it will sit on the truck until Monday and so we will not see "Saturday" packages until Monday or Tuesday.
5-Upon request we will mount and degas samples in advance of your beamtime. PLEASE GIVE US ADEQUATE TIME. If we receive the samples on the day of the beamtime. or Friday afternoon when beamtime is starting Monday morning, we will not be able to prepare your samples and will have to use your precious beamtime hours for that.
SHIPPING ITEMS FROM MAESTRO TO YOU
All shipments from MAESTRO (and ALS) to foreign destinations MUST CONFORM to relevant U. S. Export control, and export classification information must be declared before any shipments to you can take place from our facility.
1) This means any materials you provide to us, such as samples, chemicals, or equipment, cannot be shipped back to foreign destinations unless you provide the export control information we need to provide our officers for review of the shipment.
a) EVEN IF...The materials originated from outside the USA
b) EVEN IF...The materials were hand-carried across the border to the USA. Note that hand-carrying them back home is also subject to export control and your property could be inspected, and you could be questioned about any materials you are carrying.
c) EVEN IF... The materials being shipped were created or invented at the same facility that we are trying to ship to.
d) EVEN IF...It is a new material that you invented, that no one else has heard of before, such as crystal or thin film heterostructure.
e) ESPECIALLY IF...Material was created at ALS such as thin films grown here.
2) The relevant question we need to know is:
"Are the items export-controlled under the ITAR, the NRC, or the EAR 9×515 or "600 series" ECCNs?
3) Here are some resources you can use to try and figure out what this means.
link #1: what does EAR99 mean?
link #2: a nice article on what is practically needed to follow the regulations
link #3: type the name of a country to see a list of entities or people that we will not be allowed to ship to
4) This is a particularly difficult question for new material compounds that are frequently studied at MAESTRO, that do not exist in any export control databases. It would be better to plan for ALS disposal or storage of these samples rather than trying to ship them back to you. Note that taking materials back yourself can also be regarded as a US export violation.
5) The good news is that if you have gone through this before and you already know the export control classification, then it is not difficult or time-consuming to clear shipments.