Transporting liquid nitrogen in a car or lift in the UK is subject to strict legal requirements and is prohibited in certain configurations. In a lift, the rule is clear: dewars containing liquid nitrogen must not accompany personnel. The risk is oxygen displacement. Liquid nitrogen vaporises continuously and in a sealed lift compartment, even a small dewar can reduce oxygen concentration to dangerous levels within minutes. The dewar should be sent unaccompanied, with a trained person waiting at the destination floor.
In a car or enclosed vehicle, UK guidance prohibits carrying liquid nitrogen in a closed passenger compartment without adequate ventilation. Under the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations (CDG 2009), quantities above 200ml require appropriate vehicles, driver training, and documentation. For quantities below this threshold, the vehicle must still be ventilated and the dewar must be secured against tipping.
For the transport of cryopreserved biological samples between IVF clinics and research sites, the correct solution is a cryoshipper, a dry shipper such as the CryoStork V2 that contains no free liquid nitrogen and is specifically designed for safe biological sample transport by road and air. It eliminates the regulatory complexity of transporting free liquid nitrogen while maintaining cryogenic temperatures throughout the journey.
