Cleaning mounted birds

A word of caution about cleaning old taxidermy mounts:  any specimen
that has been exposed long enough to get dusty (in other words not
in a cabinet with PDB or otherwise), and exhibits little or no
insect damage, should be assumed to be contaminated with a poison.
Arsenic, mercury, DDT and other compounds were regularly used on
taxidermy specimens and any attempt at "cleaning" could be very
hazardous to the operator.  Tests for these materials are available
(sort of) and can be employed to be sure, but disposable gloves and
dust masks should always be used in any case.

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:49
                Distributed: Thursday, November 21, 1996
                       Message Id: cdl-10-49-004
                                  ***