[Histonet] Outdated Gold

[Terri Braud]

To clarify, the mint date on the Queen Victoria 0.25 ounce gold piece is the "Manufacture Date" not the expiration date. Also, since it clearly does not have an expiration date, regulations state that an expiration date must be assigned to the coin. Then, the effectiveness of the gold piece in chemical procedures must be validated through testing with known controls on a minimum of  an annual basis.  The results of that testing must be kept for the lifetime of the coin.  If you chose instead, to have the gold piece disposed, you must know the content of the gold and any component parts.  Is it 14k? 18k?  A reputable hazardous waste facility will sample the coin for its component parts (at an additional charge, of course) then will charge for disposal of the gold piece and the other metals it may contain.  The cost of the disposal is usually calculated by weight and type hazardous materials.  After disposal, the company should send you a waste manifest that (at least in the US) must be kept on file for 50 years.
(Secretly, I would just bury it in my backyard, a common technique in the U.S.)

Terri L. Braud, HT(ASCP)
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2016 19:55:51 +0000
From: Steve McClain <SteveM at mcclainlab.com>
Subject: Re: [Histonet] Histonet Digest, Vol 157, Issue 5 outdated
	gold
Cheers! We were dinged on the last inspection for having outdated reagents near the human testing. 
We have a gold standard in the lab, specifically a Queen Victoria 0.25 ounce gold coin minted in 1870. It appears to be past expiration, yet still attractive and untarnished. 
Any suggestions for proper disposal of outdated gold will be appreciated. 
Steve A. McClain, MD