Electronic cigarettes in museums

Beverly Perkins <beverlyp<-a t->centerofthewest< . >org> writes

>Are electronic cigarettes harmful to museum collections?

The materials released by each e-cig vary.  The primary carriers are
glycols, glycerin or mineral oil mists.  But there are a flock of
other chemicals.  The following is a list from just one manufacturer
(Farsee).

    Tobacco oils (a total of less than <20% Virginia, Burley, and
    Oriental tobaccos)

    Nicotine from tobacco--from 0-3% depending on if it is
    delivering 0, 4, 6, or 8 milligrams

    Smoke-producing mixture of: Water <20%; Propylene glycol >50%;
    Glycerol <10%

    4-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-butene-4-one) <5%

    Many chemicals at <1-2% including: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine;
    2,3-dimethylpyrazine; 2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine; 2-ethylpyrazine;
    2-acetylpyrazine; beta ionone; linalool (citrus odor); menthol
    (for the menthol variety); methyl butyric acid; rose oil;
    vanilla extract (for the vanilla cigs); octalactone and
    undecalactone.

Another article you can easily Google is the following:

    Monique Williams, Amanda Villarreal1, Krassimir Bozhilov,
    Sabrina Lin1, Prue Talbot.
    PLOS ONE, March 2013, Vol. 8: No. 3, e57987
    "Metal and Silicate Particles Including Nanoparticles are
    Present in Electronic Cigarette Cartomizer Fluid and Aerosol"

    <URL:http://www.plosone.org>

I wrote an article that attempted to use the data in this study to
quantify the amount that a person might inhale.  That might also be
used to get a clue on how much would be released as second hand.

If you want to see some articles I've written on the subject, just
e-mail me off line and I'll send some to you.

But looking at the overall picture, I would say they shouldn't be
used in museums.  They don't release as much as traditional
cigarettes, but they will definitely release materials that can
cling to walls and surfaces and which are oil and/or solvent like.

Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President:  Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012
212-777-0062


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:5
                  Distributed: Saturday, July 5, 2014
                        Message Id: cdl-28-5-001
                                  ***