Oh Pitt Rivers is my favorite quintessential Victorian curio cabinet come museum. I lived in Britain for a bit and so enjoyed going to Oxford on weekends to visit friends. But I digress. When I was pregnant I way very aware of my exposures because my father specialises in birth defects of premature infants. I am CCing him on this as well, to see if he has anything to add. In Museums I know of no studies, but the medical field does know about pesticide exposure in agriculture and gardening, as well as heavy metal exposure and the effects both have on fertility, pregnancy and children. The most important time to avoid contact is actually before most people are comfortable telling co-workers they are expecting, the first trimester. In fact, the highest risk is from 3 to 8 weeks for neural tube defects. The exposure is cumulative, so a one time exposure isn't worth losing sleep over, but a museum full of ethnographic material that are treated with toxic chemicals presents a constant danger. Exposure before conception is crucial as well, as heavy metals do not dissipate in our systems. Not only should women who are pregnant be careful any exposure, but any woman planning a family should avoid low level, chronic exposure to heavy metals. It is a constant hazard those of us who work with ethnographic and specimen collections must deal with. Always wear gloves, drape any clothing (lab coats) that comes into contact with the ethnographic materials and wear masks; many of these chemicals can vaporise in relatively low temperatures. Wash hands with copious amounts of water after removing gloves, and never consume beverages in the same area you are working. I am also very careful to change my clothes as soon as I get home, so not to expose my baby to the chemicals I deal with all day. Remember, many pesticides used in the past remain on the objects indefinitely and many older pesticides are developed from the same technology as nerve gas. Perhaps for that month of highest risk, it would behoove the expectant mother to just work on activities that do not require hands on collections maintenance. Laura, if you want a more in depth discussion, please feel free to email me off list. Cheers, Sarah laura peers <[log in to unmask] OX.AC.UK> To Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask] discussion list cc <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject [MUSEUM-L] pesticide residue and pregnant employees 03/10/2009 03:40 AM Please respond to Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask] SE.LSOFT.COM> Dear colleagues, I work at the Pitt Rivers Museum, an ethnographic museum in England, and have a query about how colleagues have dealt with pesticide residue dangers for pregnant members of staff whose jobs require them to handle objects on a daily basis. While there is plenty of evidence available that ethnographic collections tend to have deposits of various pesticides, arsenic, mercury &c, there seems to be very little evidence about how such residues affect the health of museum employees. We have all heard anecdotal evidence about museum employees being affected by pesticides, but does anyone know of any serious research on this topic? We will of course require pregnant members of staff to wear gloves, lab coats, and masks, but I wondered if colleagues might share their thoughts on how to protect these members of staff while also enabling them to get on with their core duties. We are also consulting members of ICOM who have a project on pesticides, and if colleagues on the MUSEUM-L list would find it useful, I will summarize the ICOM findings for the list when we get these. With sincere thanks Laura Peers Curator (Americas) Pitt Rivers Museum ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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).