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                                                   
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                                       [MUSEUM-L] pesticide residue and    
                                       pregnant employees                  
             03/10/2009 03:40                                              
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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

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