To: All Tree-Ring Lab employees and affiliated faculty and students in other departments

From: Tom Swetnam, Director

Many of us travel via airline and other public transportation to our field collection sites and for meetings and other official business.   In our travels, especially for our field work, it is often necessary to bring along tools and supplies.

Please be aware that if you travel on any public transportation and particularly airlines, there are very strict regulations regarding the offering and transport of “hazardous materials”.

To learn about what is considered “hazardous” and the regulations, I urge all of you to view the Federal Aviation Administration’s brochure “Is it Safe? What to Pack, and What to Leave Back”.

You can find the brochure in a pdf at this link:
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_safe/

Most relevant for our work, please note that all flammables and solvents are considered hazardous, as well as all gasoline-powered tools (e.g., chainsaws, gas-powered generators, etc.).

If you have any doubts about what is allowed or not, or have any questions you should check first with the FAA (see the contacts in the brochure) before traveling.

Please take this matter very seriously, read the brochure, and follow the regulations. The possible penalties for violations of these regulations are quite severe.

Thomas W. Swetnam
Director & Professor of Dendrochronology
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
520-621-2112
tswetnam@ltrr.arizona.edu