Batteries in objects

Kendrie Richardson <kendrie_richardson [at] hotmail__com> writes

>Barry Knight <barry.knight [at] bl__uk> writes
>
>>... As
>>a rule, we remove the batteries if it easy to do so, but we wonder
>>whether it is ethical and justifiable to partially dismantle a toy
>>or to cut into a cuddly animal, for example, in order to remove a
>>battery.  What is the policy of other libraries or museums which
>>collect this kind of artefact?
>
>...
>Previous research suggested that the batteries should be hollowed
>out to remove any potentially hazardous materials but my further
>research indicated that primary cells render themselves stable over
>time. Once the reactants are used up in the cell, essentially, the
>cell is dead. In addition, a lot of primary cells tend to use less
>hazardous components as the anode, cathode and electrolytes which
>again makes them pretty safe. What I would suggest is to attempt to
>determine what type of battery is in the object. You can do this by
>doing a little research into the year the object was made and then
>search for common types of batteries being produced. For an example,
>zinc-carbon cells were a very common primary cell used in household
>objects in the 1940's - 1990's. If the cell housed within the object
>does not contain hazardous materials (i.e. lead, or mercury etc.),
>it would be fairly safe to say that the object would remain unharmed
>but, be sure to monitor it over time. ...

It sounds like you have never had batteries leak? They can do a lot
of damage to any item that they leak in. I have a $2,000 Pfaff
sewing machine and the batteries that it was shipped with after
several years decided to leak. I was very lucky that I caught it
when I did. That was only because I try to check them every 6
months.

Personally I would highly recommend that you remove all batteries
before storing items that comes with batteries. If they are in plush
toy's look for a seam and carefully clip a few stitches and remove
the batteries and then carefully sew up the area where you removed
the stitches. Matching the color of thread to what they were sewn in
with in the first place. If done carefully no one will be the wiser.

Janice M. Healy
Conner-Bishop Historical Resource Center
4210 SW 198th Ave.
Aloha, Oregon  USA 97007-2343


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:3
                   Distributed: Sunday, June 19, 2011
                        Message Id: cdl-25-3-005
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