[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Labelling heavy metals residues on display taxidermy

Thu Jul 9 03:49:43 EDT 2026

Just chiming in to agree with Dirk here.

A long time ago, as a student, I was informed of an internal report of
sorts in a museum with a large ethnography section, a zoology section and
generally a lot of organic materials in storage and on display. That report
presented the percentage of employees in the collections who developed
diseases likely to be related to their work environment - respiratory
diseases and cancer. It turned out to be very high (around 80% if I
remember correctly) - due to the continual, everyday work in closed spaces
with the collections and because before the report came out there was less
awareness of PPE (gloves, mainly - something I keep bringing up in any
collections-related place and during any project). Visitors are far less
likely to suffer from that kind of risk. Employees indeed should be the
main target for information and for emphasizing why at least some basic PPE
isn't "overkill" or just a nuisance.

Best wishes,

Gali

On Thu, Jul 9, 2026 at 10:29 AM Dirk Neumann <d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de>
wrote:

> Hi Morgan,
>
> the key question is if there is a H&S risk for visitors in the meaning of
> applicable (annual) exposure rates and threshold values that would require
> marking (i.e. labelling).
>
> There could be a risk if visitors (illegally) touch specimens, i.e. get in
> direct contact with the object, or if airborne or sedimentary dust could
> convey biocides and/or toxic heavy metals in relevant concentrations.
>
> As there are no applicable threshold values other then room air or direct
> ingestion, the question for 'exposure risk' cannot be answered directly and
> straight forward.
>
> Maybe this example is suited to illustrate a pragmatic way forward:
>
> Not long ago, I attended a tour of an iconic and prestigious castle near
> Berlin. It is renowned not only for its cultural relevance (arts, gardens,
> architecture), but also for the fact that a lot of the original interior
> decoration contain heavy metal pigments, and that the entire wooden
> elements up to the roof where soaked with DDT to a content, that the
> emitting VOCs pose a serious health risk for the guides. They are allowed
> to stay for 4 hrs max in the building weekly, which was about the time we
> spend for our visit in the building (a group of nerdy museums and
> conservation specialists).
>
> Normal visitors usually are not informed, there might be a brief note at
> the beginning of each guided tour that visitors are not considered to touch
> anything. Tour guides pay close attention and are very strict with
> visitors, which do not adhere to the rules. They told us about the DDT
> values in the building - which were really mind-blowing - but you could not
> detect them with an XRF, and for objects, it is impossible to get
> quantitative results (or measurements are rough and don't give a real
> picture).
>
> If we would have stayed longer than 4 hrs, we might have had a slightly
> elevated risk, but would still have stayed well below the annual exposure
> threshold. Most visitors only visit once in their life-time. So their risk
> is minimal to zero - even if one of us would have touched an object.
>
> A biocide assessment in a large European Natural History Museum revealed
> high arsenic concentration in some objects, which triggered H&S concerns.
> People working in the respective collection got dosimeters to measure their
> direct exposure, which was paired with a clinical study to investigate, if
> arsenic from objects are traceable in the bodies of the colleagues. Few had
> elevated arsenic values, but it turned out these colleagues consumed a lot
> of fragrant rice from Asia - which is known for elevated arsenic values in
> the ground water.
>
> To put it short: I do not see a legal obligation to label, as the risk for
> visitors is negligible - even if some objects might be heavily
> contaminated. More imported in my view is to train guides and guards,
> explain the risks, and make sure they react and handle situations when they
> occur. Maybe it is worth considering to put a legal note at the front desk
> or on visitor tickets informing them rather general that historic specimens
> on display may have been prepared or treated with substances that are
> considered a health risk in case of direct exposure, which is why touching
> objects is prohibited and that the institution takes not responsibility for
> offences.
>
> Maybe this helps
>
> With best wishes
>
> Dirk
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Am 08.07.2026 um 14:05 schrieb Glofcheskie, Morgan:
>
> ACHTUNG/ATTENTION: Diese E-Mail stammt von einem externen Absender. /
> This e-mail comes from an external sender.
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I’m working on a project related to residual heavy metals found on some of
> our taxidermy and study skins. Several years ago we did XRF testing on our
> bird and mammal collections and have since been adding hazard labels to
> reflect the risk and PPE that should be worn when handling our toxic
> specimens.  I’ve currently finished specimens in the collection, and am now
> working on specimens on display. We have a few toxic but significant
> taxidermy on display in cases which have no hazard labels. Since they are
> enclosed in display cases, the concern is less for the public and more for
> our exhibits team when handling to be aware of the PPE needed and special
> handling notes.
>
>
>
> Thoughts on discrete hazard labeling of our taxidermy on exhibit? I’m
> curious if other museums have dealt with a similar problem. I plan to work
> with our exhibits team as well.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Morgan
>
>
>
> *Morgan Glofcheskie *(she/her) OCGC Museum Management and Curatorship,
> MSc Integrative Biology, BSc Biology
>
> *Natural History Collections Management Assistant*
>
> Archives and Collections
>
> *t:* (709) 757-8010
>
> <https://therooms.ca/>
>
> *The Rooms Land Acknowledgement*
> <https://therooms.ca/land-acknowledgement>
>
>
>
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> --
>
> ******
>
>
>
> *Dirk Neumann*
>
> Collection Manager, Hamburg
>
>
>
> Postal address:
>
> *Museum of Nature Hamburg*
> Leibniz Institute for the Analysis
>
> of Biodiversity Change
>
> Dirk Neumann
>
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>
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> --
> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany
>
> Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian
> Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn
> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst
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> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>

-- 
Gali Beiner (ACR)
Conservator, Palaeontology Lab
National Natural History Collections
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Berman Building, Edmond J. Safra campus, Givat Ram
Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Fax. 972-2-6585785
*gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il <gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il>*

*https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en <https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en>*
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