For the specific issue you address, asbestos
technically is not toxic. Incidental contact with asbestos generally
is not harmful. It is a lung irritant that in adequate quantities can lead
to serious maladies. This generally occurs only with persons working with
asbestos for many years. First, it needs to be breathed into the
lungs. This requires there to be dust present. And, that dust needs
to get into the lungs in a significant quantity. Asbestos is not absorbed
through the skin. In many applications, asbestos is tightly bound and dust
is unlikely unless it is disturbed. This is why removal applications are
more dangerous, as the bound structure is disturbed, releasing dust. For
your items, to remove the asbestos would significantly compromise the object by
loss of an important component, and the process actually makes the objects more
dangerous by disturbing it and creating dust. If they are small enough, I
would suggest you place them in zip lock polyethylene bags. Of course,
wear a dust mask or respirator as a precaution. By all means mark the bags
as containing asbestos, as well as the object records. Larger objects can
be wrapped with sheets of polyethylene or placed in large bags. Asbestos
requires reasonable care, but panic is not necessary.
Marc
American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
4
Rockville Road
Broad Brook, CT
06016
www.conservator.com
860-386-6058
Marc A. Williams, President
MS in Art
Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
Former Chief
Wooden Objects Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 4:14
PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] How to store toxic
objects
Hi,
I have some materials here that have asbestos on it, used
to store very hot things. What is the typical route that museums take to care
for objects like this that have toxic chemicals? Do museums clean and remove
it (with a contractor who knows what they’re doing)? Or do you keep the object
as it is and sticker a label on it that notes that there is asbestos on it?
Your responses are great appreciated, thank you.
Mai Vang
Curator
Minnesota
Discovery Center
1005
Discovery Drive
Chisholm, MN 55719
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800-372-6437
218-254-1238
How
People Make Things
at the Minnesota Discovery Center!
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