This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Colleagues:
Late Friday afternoon it came to my attention that we had ingested and passed out to various units for processing a mixed library and archives collection of about 50 cubic feet of papers which seem to have been treated with some sort of pesticide. I don't know much anything about what the potential infestation is or was, how the collection was stored (likely in a garage, shed or basement), what the pesticide was (reports of the treatment came second hand from acquisitions staff, but the collection reeks of chemicals, and at least one staff member found some sort of a nest inside a box), or when/how/how much was applied. Aside from the obvious questions of whether the treatment was sufficient to stop whatever the infestation was, I'm concerned about the implications of the potential pesticide. The literature I'm aware of that describes protocols for handling pesticide contaminated items mostly is focused on historic applications to museum collections. This collection is relatively large (50 cubic feet of paper). Do other libraries or archives have ingest and processing protocols for large-ish, potentially contaminated collections? The pesticide must be modern (can I assume some sort of commonly used at home type, like a pyrethroid?). Do we need to treat items to be discarded as hazardous waste? Should we apply some sort of ventilation to what we'll keep for some period of time? Do any institutions warn potential users of collections such as this that they may have been treated? Does anyone have protocols for dealing with collections that pose unknowns such as this that they can share? We're lucky to have access here to both the UW's campus health and safety as well as the state industrial hygiene lab, and I'll be in touch with them on Monday for advice, but other institutional experience or protocols would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Katie Mullen Preservation Coordinator, Library-Archives Wisconsin Historical Society 816 State Street Madison, WI 53706-1482 PH: 608-264-6489 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Stories Since 1846 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [email protected] and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to [email protected] with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email [email protected] or [email protected]
