[Nhcoll-l] Poisonous specimens in collection

[John E Simmons]

Esther,
I can't answer for stonefish or mollusks, but snake venom is effectively
neutralized with preservation in formaldehyde or alcohol. Snake venoms are
complex proteins which break down fairly rapidly unless they are dried, and
and are denatured in fluid preservatives. Other than the possibility of
being scratched by the teeth or fangs, preserved venomous snakes do not
present a hazard. The fangs of dry skulls may contain a bit of dry venom
and should be handled carefully. The toxins in amphibian skins are also
effectively neutralized in preservatives.

As a general rule, I strongly recommend wearing nitrile or neoprene gloves
when handling any fluid-preserved specimen, not because of the animal's
toxins but because of trace amounts of formaldehyde and other chemicals
that may be in the alcohol.

--John


John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
www.museologica.com
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
and
Instructor, Museum Studies
School of Library and Information Science
Kent State University

On Mon, Apr 30, 2018 at 10:09 AM, Esther Dondorp <
esther.dondorp at naturalis.nl> wrote:

> For new health and safety procedures we are tying to find out if specimens
> in collections that are intrinsically poisonous can still be a hazard to
> work with. Think about venomous snakes in ethanol or formalin, stone fish,
> mollusks. Does anyone has experience with this? Do you have special safety
> procedures for working with these type of specimens or is there really
> nothing to worry about after fixation/preservation.
>
> Many thanks!
>
>
> Esther Dondorp
>
>
>
> Collection manager Reptiles and Amphibians
>
>
> T +31 (0)71 751 9313, M +31 (0)6 4870 4107
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