[Nhcoll-l] Repair of asbestos-cont taxidermy

[Dietrich, Elizabeth]

I concur with Kathy, but add that you may also want to test for pesticides such as arsenic and mercury and presence of lead so that you can properly identify any waste products, if necessary. The pesticides would likely have been soaked or rubbed into the hide but may have leached into the plaster or other stuffing materials. The glove bag procedure will also work for the heavy metals.

-----Original Message-----
From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Makos, Kathryn
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 8:39 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Cc: hansmann at msu.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Repair of asbestos-cont taxidermy

Hi Laura and yes, we at the Smithsonian have some experience dealing with asbestos-containing objects and specimens, whether it be abating/removing ACM, bagging and labeling, stabilizing etc.  I will contact you tomorrow off-list but basically, in your case, it sounds as if your EHS and asbestos O&M staff could perhaps stabilize (encapsulate) the exposed ACM so the taxidermist could work on the skin without damaging the art plaster, or since that may not be practical, they could enclose the mount in plastic and create a glorified abatement glove bag around the lil' devil (like it was an ACM covered pipe) and the taxidermist could work on the mount from outside the bag.  Tools would need to be positioned inside the bag and decontaminated later and it's awkward but with enough light it could work.  Mr. Hansmann will know where I'm going with this.  As we all know, blending our public health world and your collections/conservation world always requires some innovation!

Kathryn Makos, MPH, CIH
Smithsonian Institution
Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management Washington DC
202-633-2670
makosk at si.edu



Message: 2
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:17:03 -0500
From: "Laura Abraczinskas" <abraczi1 at msu.edu>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Repair of asbestos-containing taxidermy
To: <nhcoll-L at mailman.yale.edu>
Cc: 'Zach Hansmann' <hansmann at msu.edu>
Message-ID: <001001cdf2be$072dc300$15894900$@edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello,
One of our campus departments has a mounted polar bear displayed prominently in their building.  (The animal is not part of the MSU Museum's collection).
The mount dates from the 1950s and has some damaged areas (front paws,
ventral seam, etc.) that the department is looking have repaired.    The
bear was tested by the campus Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHS)
and found to contain asbestos.    One or more taxidermists were initially
contacted but the person(s) will not work on the specimen, given the test results.  The EHS Office deals with campus asbestos issues (usually involving building materials).  The department would like to have the specimen repaired if possible. Does anyone have experience with this and/or
advice that I could pass along?   Feel free to reply off-list to me
(abraczi1 at msu.edu)and Zach Hansmann from MSU EHS (hansmann at msu.edu).
Thank you very much,
Laura

Laura Abraczinskas, Collections Manager
Vertebrate Collections
Michigan State University Museum
409 West Circle Drive, Room 103
East Lansing, Michigan  48824

517/355-1290 Office Phone
517/432-2846 FAX



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