Dear Ms. Bustard,
I would caution you to be very careful with cinnabar, and caution the staff
to be very careful also. There was a very interesting article in New Yorker
a few years back in the "Annals of Medicine" series about a report of a
43-year-old woman who worked as a conservator in New York City. She had her
own lab in her home. She went to her doctor with symptoms of very low
hemoglobin, abdominal pain, dizziness, lack of energy, shortness of breath,
irritability. She appeared to be losing blood, her hemoglobin counts fell
so low, but she was't. Eventual investigation of her lab at home revealed
that she was restoring a Peruvian textile. She would apply a wet cinnabar
pigment, allow it to dry, and then remove the residue by blowing it away,
which meant that she was inhaling some of it. She also smoked while she
worked. There was no local exhaust ventilation in her lab. Cinnabar may or
may not be particularly dangerous--in this case, the particular pigment she
had also contained 380 ppm lead-she was on the verge of dying from lead
poisoning before the source of her exposure was traced. The article was
later reprinted in the book, "The Man Who Grew Two Breasts."
John E. Simmons
Collection Manager, Natural History Museum
and
Coordinator, Historical Administration and Museum Studies Program
University of Kansas
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561
Phone 785-864-4508
FAX 785-864-5335
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of wendy bustard
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2001 11:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Cinnabar
I just recently returned from Copan, where park staff are working, almost
daily, with cinnabar-coated artifacts. The staff work in rooms with no
ventilation and the only safety precautions they are taking are latex
gloves and dust masks. Does anyone have or know of museum safety
guidelines/recommendations for working with cinnabar? The OSHA guidelines
are a bit overwhelming. I'm also looking for information on monitoring
equipment - kind, cost, etc. I will pass any information on to the staff at
Copan. Please reply off-list. Thanks.
Wendy Bustard
Museum Curator
Chaco Culture NHP
505-346-2871
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