[NHCOLL-L:4021] Re: use of carbon disulfide as an insecticide

[Monica J. Albe]

Hi Jill,

I believe that it is now illegal to use carbon disulfide for fumigation
purposes in museums.  I think this became a law in the late nineties or the
earlier 00's.

Cheers,
Monica

On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 1:41 PM, Harris, Jill (VMNH) <
Jill.Harris at vmnh.virginia.gov> wrote:

>
>
> Dear Collegues,
>
> One of the curators here mentioned that in the past, a very long time ago,
> he used carbon disulfide to rid a closed storage cabinets of any insect
> infestation.  He states that the carbon disulfide was placed in a container
> and left in the bottom of a cabinet.  The cabinet was kept sealed for a
> couple days until the carbon disulfide had evaporated.  This effectively and
> quickly killed any insect infestation that was in the storage cabinet.  This
> curator has asked me to find out if this is still an acceptable practice, or
> if it is obsolete now.
>
> I looked up the MSDS sheet and it has enough there to scare me from using
> it, but that was not what I was asked to find out.  I was asked to see if it
> is still used for such purposes as to kill insect pests in a storage
> cabinet.  I suspect this chemical is no longer used for this purpose, but
> thought I'd ask the list members if any of you have heard of such a method
> to eradicate insect infestations in cabinets.
>
> I do want to mention, that we do not have an infestation.  Also, we have a
> CO2/Anoxic Chamber, which is currently waiting for part so it can operate
> again.  I suspect this curator is asking about the carbon disulfide, as we
> are beginning to get a backlog of specimens that need to be processed
> through the anoxic chamber before going into new storage facilities.
>
> *So, just to give me some wisdom from the field at large, I'd  like to
> know what knowledge you may have to impart regarding the use of carbon
> disulfide as an insecticide inside museum storage cabinets.  Is it still
> used, or is it obsolete??*
>
> Thank you in advance for any insight you may have regarding this topic.
>
> Jill
> *Jill K. Harris*
> *Museum Registrar*
> *Virginia Museum of Natural History*
> 21 Starling Avenue
> Martinsville, VA 24112
> direct: (276) 634-4182
> fax: (276) 634-4199
> email: jill.harris at vmnh.virginia.gov
> web: www.vmnh.net
>



-- 
Senior Museum Scientist
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
3101 VLSB
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3160
phone: (510) 642-1379
http://mvz.berkeley.edu
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