Forwarded on his behalf. > ---------------------------- > As museum professionals, it is important to preserve the artifact. It > would be tragic that if the only thing that gets preserved from our > pharmaceutical history are empty jars. While I understand peoples concern > about safety of staff and other collections, the general rule of > historical pharmaceuticals is that they are safe and stable, unless taken > internally. Like most artifacts, store them in a cool dry location. I > would encourage anybody to discuss concerns that they may have with a > pharmacisist or a chemist. You might want to consult the following > reference: > > 1: Kondratas R. > The preservation and disposition of hazardous substances and controlled > drugs in museum collections. > Caduceus. 1991 Autumn;7(2):55-62. No abstract available. > PMID: 1756404 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] > > Most pharmaceuticals are not worth worrying over, with a couple of > exceptions: > > Ether/Chloroform (anesthetic) -will become a high explosive if allowed to > crystallize. I encourage anyone who has this to dispose of the liquid. > If it is stored in a sealed glass ampoule, it is not a problem. The > concern is evaporation. > > Schedule I and II drugs . (morophine opium etc.) These drugs are > extremely stable, however there are serious legal considerations that the > museum has to consider. The drugs need to be secured and the museum needs > to careful about putting on display or loaning to another institution. > Consult legal counsel and review the Controlled Substances Act about these > drugs on the Food and Drug Administration website: > http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/cntrlsub/ctlsbtoc.htm > > For more information on pharmaceuticals, consult the American Institute of > the History of Pharmacy website at http://www.pharmacy.wisc.edu/aihp/ > > I encourage anyone on this listserve with medical collections to join the > Medical Museums Association > http://www.cwru.edu/affil/MeMA/memahome.htm > > Alan Hawk > Historical Collections > National Museum of Health and Medicine, AFIP > Bldg 54, Walter Reed Army Medical Center > Washington, DC 20306-6000 > phone: 202.782.2205 fax: 202.782.3573 > [log in to unmask] > > ========================================================= 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).