[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERNAL] Re: Mold on specimens (skeletal, taxidermy) and cardboard boxes

Wed Sep 21 10:46:46 EDT 2022

Hi Chris,

Everyone here has already given great advice.

I'm just going to attach this paper that documents our (US Fish & Wildlife Forensic Lab) recent experience (2020) with tackling an extensive mold outbreak in our bird collection.

We didn't have skeletons affected, but we had many taxidermy specimens, hopefully this should help! We describe the PPE used, the treatments we used/tried and which model of HEPA filter vacuum (highly recommend) we used.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Cheers,

Ariel

---

Ariel M. Woodward (nee Gaffney), M.Sc. (she/her)

Forensic Scientist / Ornithologist

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | Office of Law Enforcem?ent
National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory
1490 E. Main Street | Ashland, OR  97520
Direct Phone Number:  541-488-6516  | Main Lab: 541-482-4191 (x516)

________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Benjamin Hess <bmhess at umich.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2022 6:26 AM
To: Chris Evelyn <christopher_evelyn at ucsb.edu>
Cc: NHCOLL-new <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>; Katja Seltmann <seltmann at ucsb.edu>; Greg Wahlert <wahlert at ccber.ucsb.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [Nhcoll-l] Mold on specimens (skeletal, taxidermy) and cardboard boxes

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Dear Chris,

I want to add a couple additional comments. I had a large mold issue with mammal skins and skeletons in the past.

  1.  Cause - Determine if the cause can be remedied after the mold treatment. We resolved a cabinet and collection airflow issue, which were the main issue causing this mold.
  2.  PPE and containment - Wear appropriate PPE and consider doing all treatment when possible within a fume hood or other localized exhaust system.
  3.  Consult a conservator as needed - All cardboard boxes and trays (despite how good they may look) must be discarded. Ethanol (70% or greater) will treat mold spores, but not do additional irreversible damage to specimens like bleach. Ask a conservator about the chemicals you plan to use, and potential issues about what is being treated.
  4.  Treatment - Consider a short soak of bone material to reach all mold spores. I treated museum study skins by brushing all surfaces with a toothbrush and ethanol. Use caution with taxidermy specimens (as noted above).
  5.  Storage - Any area where the moldy specimens were stored, must also be treated. We did an ethanol cleanse of our entire cabinet and all cabinet trays - we also replaced the cabinet gasket.

Kind Regards,

Ben

On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 2:25 PM Mariana Di Giacomo <maru.digi at gmail.com<mailto:maru.digi at gmail.com>> wrote:
Dear Chris,

I am so sorry you're going through this, it is a very challenging problem to have. Mold is terrible.

First of all, I would agree with John about the use of PPE, nothing is more important than people's health.
Second, I also agree with his recommendation to discard the cardboard boxes. Just make sure that when you do that, you're not throwing away any important written information or labels that may be present in/on them.
Third, John's recommendation about bone is excellent as well. Make sure you test the ethanol on the bone surface before you begin, to make sure it does not penetrate too deeply into the bone. The goal is for it to evaporate quickly, so avoid dunking bone in the ethanol and use other tools such as cotton swabs

Fourth, bleach on taxidermy is not a good idea. It is a damaging chemical that will also bleach the specimens. Taxidermy is more complex to treat because you will have hair, feathers, skin, keratin, and painted surfaces and plant material on top of that. Ethanol can work in some cases but in others it may remove the paint, so you have to be extra cautious. HEPA vacuums with small attachments (and even cheesecloth or another barrier to avoid sucking up hair or feathers) are your friends for an initial cleanup but I would suggest collaborating with a conservator before doing anything. It doesn't mean you'll have to have all taxidermy treated by a conservator, but it may be that certain specimens that are more prone to damage need that kind of expertise. Let me know if you want to chat further.

Finally, the best approach, as you probably know, is to avoid this in the first place, so it may be that you need to start thinking of mitigation strategies or talk to people that run the facilities, so you can avoid future similar situations. I'm also happy to provide any insight on preventive measures.

Best of luck!
Mariana

Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD
Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum
Associate Editor, Collection Forum, SPNHC
Secretary/Communications APOYOnline

El mar, 20 sept 2022 a las 12:11, John E Simmons (<simmons.johne at gmail.com<mailto:simmons.johne at gmail.com>>) escribió:
Do not use bleach on skeletons--it will damage the bone and it is very difficult to remove completely (we know this from its past use to clean skeletons).

Instead, clean the bones with a high concentration of ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol at concentrations of 70% or higher (I recommend using full-strength, 96%) is an excellent biocide, and the higher concentrations will evaporate quickly from the surface, reducing the chances of causing more damage to the bone. Keep in mind that any surface the mold is growing on will already be damaged by the mold, so adding chemicals to it can cause even more damage.

Taxidermy specimens possibly can be vacuumed using HEPA filtered vacuum, but I will leave advice on that one to one of the conservators on the list who has experience removing mold from hair and feathers.

The cardboard boxes should be removed and destroyed. It will be very difficult to remove all the mold from cardboard, and of mentioned the cardboard surface will have already been compromised by the mold growth.

Be sure to use appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (lab coat, mask, and goggles if necessary) and work under a fume hood to prevent spread of the spores around the building. Anyone who has a compromised respiratory system (e.g., asthma, emphysema) should stay clear of the infested area and cleaning activities.it<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Factivities.it%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cariel_woodward%40fws.gov%7Cd4e119d7ab274b07eab208da9bd4ef89%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637993636108016361%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4a%2FPdS5iKpWcqEc1H6fhAnHOTG1KMEmz8sJ%2BUGEIzK4%3D&reserved=0>

I have attached a paper on cleaning a similar mold outbreak that you may find useful.

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
and
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 11:52 AM Chris Evelyn <christopher_evelyn at ucsb.edu<mailto:christopher_evelyn at ucsb.edu>> wrote:
Hello all,

We have a pretty serious mold issue. Everything in the room has some mold. The jars and surfaces can be cleaned but a few items are trickier so I'd love some feedback:

1) Skeletal specimens (will 10% bleach solution work?)
2) taxidermy specimens (will 10% bleach work?)
3) cardboard boxes with small specimens (replace the boxes or just clean them off?) I

Attached are some images of the current situation.

Thank you for your assistance!

Chris

Christopher J. Evelyn
Vertebrate Curatorial Manager & Asst. Researcher
Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration
University of California Santa Barbara
Ancestral Lands of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation
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--

Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | EEB Museums Safety Representative to the RMC

University of Michigan | LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research Museums Center

3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228

bmhess at umich.edu<mailto:bmhess at umich.edu> | 734-764-2432

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