The purpose of the regulations in this part is to implement the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, (16 U.S.C 2401 et seq.), and Article 7 of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty done at Madrid on October 4, 1991. Specifically, this part is designed to ensure meteorites in Antarctica will be collected for scientific research purposes only and that U.S. expedition organizers to Antarctica who plan to collect meteorites in Antarctica will ensure that any specimens collected will be properly collected, handled, documented and curated to preserve their scientific value.

This part applies to any person who collects meteorites in Antarctica. The requirements of § 674.5 apply to any person organizing an expedition to or within Antarctica for which the United States is required to give advance notice under Paragraph (5) of Article VII of the Antarctic Treaty where one of the purposes of the expedition is to collect meteorites in Antarctica. The requirements in this part only apply to the collection of meteorites in Antarctica after April 30, 2003.

In this part:

Antarctica means the area south of 60 degrees south latitude.

Expedition means an activity undertaken by one or more persons organized within or proceeding from the United States to or within Antarctica for which advance notification is required under Paragraph 5 of Article VII of the Antarctic Treaty.

Incremental cost is the extra cost involved in sharing the samples with other researchers. It does not include the initial cost of collecting the meteorites in Antarctica or the cost of maintaining the samples in a curatorial facility.

Person has the meaning given that term in section 1 of title 1, United States Code, and includes any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

No person may collect meteorites in Antarctica for other than scientific research purposes.

(a) Any person organizing an expedition to or within Antarctica, where one of the purposes of the expedition is to collect meteorites in Antarctica, shall ensure that the meteorites will be properly collected, documented, handled, and curated to preserve their scientific value. Curation includes making specimens available to bona fide scientific researchers on a timely basis, in accordance with specified procedures.

(b) Expedition organizers described in paragraph (a) of this section shall develop and implement written procedures for the collection, documentation, and curation of specimens which include the following components:

(1) Handling requirements. Handling procedures shall ensure that the specimens are properly labeled and handled to minimize the potential for contamination from the point of collection to the point of curation. At a minimum, handling procedures shall include:

(i) Handling the samples with clean Teflon or polyethylene coated implements or stainless steel implements (or equivalent);

(ii) Double bagging of samples in Teflon or polyethylene (or equivalent) bags;

(iii) A unique sample identifier included with the sample;

(iv) Keeping the samples frozen at or below −15 °C until opened and thawed in a clean laboratory setting at the curation facility; and

(v) Thawing in a clean, dry, non-reactive gas environment, such as nitrogen or argon.

(2) Sample documentation. Documentation for each specimen, that includes, at a minimum:

(i) A unique identifier for the sample;

(ii) The date of find;

(iii) The date of collection (if different from date of find);

(iv) The latitude and longitude to within 500 meters of the location of the find and the name of the nearest named geographical feature;

(v) The name, organizational affiliation, and address of the finder or the expedition organizer;

(vi) A physical description of the specimen and of the location of the find; and

(vii) Any observations of the collection activity, such as potential contamination of the specimen.

(3) Curation. Make prior arrangements to ensure that any specimens collected in Antarctica will be maintained in a curatorial facility that will:

(i) Preserve the specimens in a manner that precludes chemical or physical degradation;

(ii) Produce an authoritative classification for meteorites that can be shown to belong to a well-established chemical and petrological group, and provide appropriate descriptions for those meteorites that cannot be shown to belong to an established chemical and petrological group;

(iii) Develop and maintain curatorial records associated with the meteorites including collection information, authoritative classification, total known mass, information about handling and sample preparation activities that have been performed on the meteorite, and sub-sample information;

(iv) Submit an appropriate summary of information about the meteorites to the Antarctic Master Directory via the National Antarctic Data Coordination Center as soon as possible, but no later than two years after receipt of samples at the curatorial facility;

(v) Submit information on classification of the meteorite to an internationally recognized meteorite research catalog, such as the “Catalogue of Meteorites” published by the Natural History Museum of London or the “Meteoritical Bulletin” published by the Meteoritical Society;

(vi) Specify procedures by which requests for samples by bonafide scientific researchers will be handled;

(vii) Make samples available to bonafide scientific researchers at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable period of time; and

(viii) In the event that the initial curatorial facility is no longer in a position to provide curation services for the specimens, or believes that the meteorites no longer merit curation, it shall consult with the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs to identify another appropriate curatorial facility, or to determine another appropriate arrangement.

A copy of the written procedures developed by expedition organizers pursuant to § 674.5(b) shall be furnished to the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs at a minimum of 90 days prior to the planned departure date of the expedition for Antarctica. NSF shall publish a notice of availability of the plan in the Federal Register that provides for a 15 day comment period. NSF shall evaluate the procedures in the plan to determine if they are sufficient to ensure that the meteorites will be properly collected, handled, documented, and curated. NSF shall provide comments on the adequacy of the plan within 45 days of receipt. If NSF advises the expedition organizer that the procedures satisfy the requirements of § 674.5 and the procedures are implemented, the expedition organizer will have satisfied the requirements of this part.

A person who makes a serendipitous discovery of a meteorite in Antarctica which could not have been reasonably anticipated, may collect the meteorite for scientific research purposes, provided that the meteorite is collected in the manner most likely to prevent contamination under the circumstances, and provided that the meteorite is otherwise handled, documented and curated in accordance with the requirements of § 674.5.