Pesticides

Paolo Recanati <consob [at] imj__org__il> writes

>Objects on loan or donated to our Museum may arrive from abroad with
>hungry termites, with paper eating silverfishes or just with their
>eggs, potentially contaminating other "clean" items. As a preventive
>measure, every single object (containing any kind of organic
>material) that enters our Museum, must spend some time in a
>"quarantine" room. Soon after, it is treated in a special sealed
>room with some chemicals such as Permetrin (sort of smoke) or in a
>"bubble" with Methyl Bromide or Phosphin (the latter not on metals)
>that can kill also eggs.

I would like to point out to you that there are plenty of other ways
to treat insects, perhaps more sustainable methods, and chemical
treatment is only advised as a last resort. The advantage of
integrated pest management (IPM) is that the emphasis is on
Prevention. Thus many problems do not even occur when the museum is
properly monitored and if they do occur measures are taken in a very
early phase of the infestation. Methyl bromide is banned in Dutch
greenhouses and human studies have shown that the chemical affects
the lungs. You can read more on pest management and IPM in
R.Teygeler: Preservation of archives in tropical climates (2001),
see chapter 7. This publication can be consulted online at
<URL:http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/grip>.

Rene Teygeler
J.van Effenstraat 23 bis
3511 HJ Utrecht
The Netherlands
rene.teygeler [at] wxs__nl
+31 30 2322071
Fax: +31 30 2382170


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:34
                 Distributed: Friday, November 22, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-34-007
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