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Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] "universal" lab coat?
Date:
Oct 1, 2023 10:35 UTC
Author:
Iulian Patrascu <00001a7c76adc396-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
From:
Monona Rossol <0000030664c37427-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] Arsenic in taxidermy collection
Date:
Sep 29, 2023 22:16 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID:
<1579064879.4810272.1696025785262**At_Symbol_Here**mail.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To:
<4C896B8A-FF94-4B51-B70C-C3FAE7095F78**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com>
Rob, The arsenic in diorama animals and collections is a real threat. There are large amounts in these animals, and most of the early ones were also stuffed with asbestos. One famous museum for which I was a consultant, had an incident that will explain it better.
They rented out their main building's central area for a party at which there were basketball awards bestowed and far too much alcohol distributed. Some of the players jumped the barriers set up, got to a diorama animal made by a famous taxidermist, and tore it limb from limb. In the morning, as each one of the staff members arrived, they came to look at the devastation and kvetch and kvell. And then they each went to their respective stations or offices. A few hours into this, the staff realized that white dusty footprints were tracked all over the building which analyzed for both arsenic and asbestos. The cleanup cost more than the almost priceless diorama animal.
I also have seen preserved bird collections and other specimens in drawers where the white arsenic trioxide powder was routinely reduced by tipping the drawer to one side and pouring the powder into the trash -- which I understand is not a listed disposal method. DDT powders and other pesticides were also used this way. Conservation labs often had 55-gallon drums of paradichlorobenzene or naphthalene moth balls or flakes which were added to enclosed storage containers by the cupful. Storage areas routinely tested above the 10 ppm TLV for these two chemicals. And so on.
Way back in the 1990s I was coauthor of an article on pesticide use in museums, if you are interested in this odd field. There are a lot of toxic substances that have been used over the years in these collections in large amounts. Don't think this is just some tiny amount of arsenic that is not a threat from this taxidermized animal. And it is a fine powder, so it does migrate and dust out to the surface as the hide ages and dries. Wipe samples will find it for sure. And any wear or tear on the animal could result in significant amounts released.
That said, I think with the proper PPE for the conservators and putting these animals into glass-enclosed dioramas, they can be kept indefinitely since no insect or bacteria can attack them and survive. And keeping them is cheaper than disposing of them properly. Monona
On Friday, September 29, 2023 at 05:27:53 PM EDT, Info <info**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com> wrote:
Here’s a Friday diversion for y’all
More than 130 taxidermied animals in a South Dakota museum were found to contain arsenic. Nobody knows what to do with them
…
The extensive collection of decades-old preserved animals at the Great Plains Zoo’s shuttered Delbridge Museum has been a source of drama since August, when tests on the aging specimens turned up various levels of arsenic – a carcinogenic chemical that was a common ingredient in animal preservation throughout much of the 20th century.
The museum was promptly shut down to the public, but debates about the fate of the animals rage on outside the silent menagerie’s closed doors. The city’s Facebook pages have been peppered with comments, from residents upset at being potentially exposed to arsenic to others urging the city not to destroy the taxidermy collection.
…
At a press conference last month, Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz said a recent examination of the museum’s taxidermy collection revealed that 79% of the specimens contained detectable levels of arsenic.
“Detectable levels”. Ouch. Sorry, just hit my head on my desk too hard.
The article mentions the “animals” have been in the collection since the late 1940’s. Wonder if anyone thought to test the employee’s blood or hair. Or do a floor swipe etc.
Rob Toreki
Safety Emporium - Laboratory and Safety Supplies
https://www.SafetyEmporium.com
esales**At_Symbol_Here**safetyemporium.com or toll-free: (866) 326-5412
Fax: (856) 553-6154, PO Box 1003, Blackwood, NJ 08012
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