Bruce wanted me to clarify the issue with glass vials. Easiest to use
his own words.

He says:

>we (like some other
>>  major museums still do) had for a time used glass microtubes that DO cause
>>  glass disease, and that I had replaced these with gelatin capsules. The
>>  glass microtubes/gelatin capsules are to keep small specimens from
>>  becoming caught between tube and label/cotton wool closure, and so that
>>  there is an improved chance of recovery if a tube is dropped on the floor
>  > and breaks.
>  > Our tubes are cheap soda glass. It is the more expensive, "exotic" glasses
>  that can cause the most serious problems.

These vials appear to be identical to mine. Mine are:
Samco
specimen tubes soda glass poly stopper 50 x 18/19mm
BS5750:2 Cert.585
Code G050/26

These come in boxes of 100. Some caps are very tight, and there is a
slight tendency to break the vial when unstoppering them. The gelcaps
would be most useful for smaller specimens eg Scissurellidae in this
eventuality. However I have never (yet) lost a specimen to such a
breakage, though I've broken a few vials.

I must point out that the 50x6mm tubes I also use (round-bottom,
unstoppered) are also soda glass, and given the correct conditions of
humidity these DO cause glass disease. There must be something else
in this glass which causes the problem. These tubes are:
Samco
Test tubes
soda glass bacteriological rimless
50x6mm
G002

These come in boxes of 144, and I have perhaps 200 boxes...

My apologies to Bruce if I confused anyone...
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
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Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut