Arsenic testing

[T. Ashley McGrew]

In the not too distant past many objects in museum collections that were vulnerable to pest infestation were treated with a variety of pesticides and heavy metals. The remaining residues of these treatments pose serious potential health threats to individuals who handle these objects. Simple protocols (http://www.paccin.org/showthread.php?533-Exhibiting-Taxidermy-of-Endangered-Species&highlight=testing) in handling and display can mitigate much of the risk to museum staff and the public at large. Surveying portions of a collection is often a preliminary aspect of dealing with these issues. Relative to that please find this - Plucked from a listserve:


I asked our conservator about testing kits and supplies, and she suggested Grainger:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/search.shtml?searchQuery=arsenic&op=search&Ntt=arsenic&N=0&GlobalSearch=true&sst=subset

Hope this helps!

[Dan Cull]

Another popular kit is: http://www.emdmillipore.com/food-analytics/rapid-arsenic-tests/c_Hzib.s1OprIAAAEbFfcXP9oy (http://http://www.emdmillipore.com/food-analytics/rapid-arsenic-tests/c_Hzib.s1OprIAAAEbFfcXP9oy)

Quick Tip: When ordering a kit always check if you're getting the acid and zinc. The acid will have to be a solid, as it is illegal to transport liquid acid and zinc in the same container. The new MQuant kit above does have both. It looks like the Grainger ones do too. The older kits didn't so you'd have to order the acids separately. Always worth checking, especially if you're in a hurry!