Collections-based health hazards in museums, universities, and cultural institutions

The conservation and management of objects of artistic, historic, and cultural significance, along with research on natural history specimens, offer a variety of safety and health risks both common to other professions and unique to the handling and study of collections. Collection objects and specimens may be inherently hazardous due to their natural composition or may contain residual pesticide and preservative chemicals acquired from decades of conservation practices. When assessing exposures, evaluation of risk must consider the intermittent nature of most work duties, the small size of the workforce, and overlapping duties.