We have had a large collection of pharmaceutical bottles that we have
been struggling with over the last several years. We have had a lot of
trouble determining how to safely dispose of them. Our local hospital
put me touch with a hazardous waste company that they use.
Unfortunately, their price was way too high for us. In the process of
their quoting, however, they identified three bottles that contained
chemicals that become highly combustible and shock sensitive when dried
out. (Which they had become after 80 years.) We worked with the local
bomb squad to remove them! They were as concerned about the chemical as
the waste company had been and used the occasion to get some training in
with their robot.

 

The bomb squad's suggestion for the rest of the bottle we have to deal
with was to contact the Haz Mat unit at our local Fire Department. We
have not yet done that but will be in the coming year. We will want to
work with them to preserve the bottle for our collection while disposing
of the contents. Needless to say our policy going forward is that we
will not accept bottles with contents!

 

Hope this helps,

 

Laura B. Furman

Curator of Collections

Midway Village Museum

815-397-9112 x 108

 

From: Victoria King [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 11:47 AM
Subject: Care for full medicinal bottles?

 

I recently just acquired two medicinal bottles with original labels and
about half full of its original liquid. 
Does anyone have any recommendation of how to care for the bottles,
specifically the labels and liquid? Should I dispose of the liquid? Are
there any special procedures to dispose of this liquid? 

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Let me know if I need to explain any
further. 


Thank you!

 

Victoria

 

________________________________

To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 


=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).