Golden Nematode Program Manual - Phytosanitary Resources

Procedures: Laboratory, Rack Room, and Wash Room
Rack Room
Step 1: Unload the Vehicles
Important
Maintain the integrity of each soil sample by keeping the bags in consecutive
order by sample bag number while unloading from the vehicle(s) and carrying
into the rack room.
Upon return to the USDA-APHIS-PPQ Work Unit facility from the
sampling field, crew members will park the transport vehicle(s) (vans/
trucks) in a row, and then unload the sample bags as follows:
1. Place the safety ladder at the racks where the sample bags will be
stored for drying.
2. Line up single file from the vehicle containing the sample bags to
the laboratory rack room.
3. If the collection END bag was loaded last, then start unloading
the highest-numbered bag (collection END bag), and pass each
bag down the line. If the collection start bag (marked 1 in the
lower left corner of the bag) was loaded last, then start unloading
with this bag. Keep the collection together and in sequential
order as the bags are being unloaded.
4. Place the collection END bag at the front of the rack shelf, and
stack each bag in consecutive order behind the END bag.
5. If more than one collection was transported in the same vehicle,
then finish unloading and stacking one entire collection before
unloading the second collection.
The Crew Leader will record on the Sample Storage Worksheet, the
date the collection is placed in the rack room, the collection bag
number, the total number of samples in the collection, the soil type
(mineral or muck), and the rack and shelf numbers where the
collection is placed. The information on this sheet is used to identify
the location of each sample bag while in the rack room. See Sample
Storage Worksheet on page A-1-13 for an example of the worksheet.
11/2007-01 Golden Nematode Program Manual 2-4-3
PPQ