Greetings,

I have never handled any arsenic treated material from the 1950's but I have
handled arsenic treated material from the 1870's to the 1910's.  While on
the curatorial staff at Sagamore Hill NHS, I assisted in the cleaning of a
number of items stuffed and mounted by Theodore Roosevelt, who apprently
really liked arsenic and used it liberally in his taxidermy.  We used latex
gloves and respirators with standard particulate and chemical filters.  We
always threw away the filters and gloves after use.  In general, arsenic is
nasty stuff and even a small amount can cause illness.  Even skin contact
may be sufficient for this purpose and so even when moving arsenic treated
items we used latex gloves.  I hope this helps.

Eric Brooks
Assistant Director/Curator
Liberty Hall Historic Site
218 Wilkinson Street
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 227-2560
[log in to unmask]
www.libertyhall.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Shockley <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, February 01, 2000 11:40 AM
Subject: Re: Handling procedures for Siburized treated objects


>Would you please share responses? This applies to many collections, not
just natural history ones. Many ethnographic pieces were also treated in
this manner. I also know this practice continued in many places until the
late 1960s or possibly even early 1970s.
>
>Lisa Shockley
>Collections Technician
>Kansas City Museum/Science City at Union Station
>
>Miles Miller wrote:
>
>> Could anybody tell me their experience working with objects which were
treated with ARSENIC in the 1950's?  What reference material has detailed
information that could be a part of our office library?  We have been told
by two conservators that wearing latex gloves and lab coats is enough
protection.  Any help/info would be greatly apprciated.
>
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