Safety in Museums and Galleries

Safety in museums and galleries special supplement to The International journal of museum management and curatorship. 

Detailed and clear descriptions of the theory, procedures and health and safety aspects of the spot tests most relevant to materials present in museums and galleries may be found in the publication Material Characterization Tests for Objects of Art and Archaeology (Odegaard et al., 2000). Spot tests that conservators and conservation scientists have found most effective to analyse plastics are presented here. 

Current occupational exposure to 1,2-dichloroethane in North America occurs predominantly during the manufacture of other chemicals, such as vinyl chloride, where 1,2-dichloroethane is used as an intermediate. In a 1982 National Occupational Exposure Survey by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 28% of employees working with adhesives and solvents were exposed to 1,2-dichloroethane, while between 5 and 9% of workers were exposed to the substance in the medicinals and botanicals, biological products, petroleum refining and organic chemicals industries, and in museums and art galleries (United States Department of Labor, 1989). 

In many parts of the US, safety rules and regulations are based on the appropriate American National Standard. These are some examples of standards relevant to Museums and Galleries. 

The chapters in this volume authoritatively review the past ten years and examine the present status of health and safety legislation, policy, and practice in our museums and galleries, and I commend the volume to all who work in them. Clearly much has been achieved, but equally there can be no place for complacency. A healthy and safe working environment is not the product of chance but derives from a responsible attitude by all towards the securing and maintenance of optimum conditions in which to work. It is to this end that this volume is devoted. 

This audit checklist should be considered as guidance only for the preparation of suitable checklists for application in your museum or gallery. Safety audits are usually evaluated by using a system of points scoring . Answers to questions are assessed by the person making the report and compared to a known or reasonable standard. For example, responses to the first question, Is the safety policy appropriate and up to date , could be ... 

The principles of passive and active fire safety apply just as strongly to the ancillary and workplace activities of the museum as to those of the public areas. Laboratories and workshops may be located in basement or other areas remote from the public galleries, and it may be necessary to consider additional escape routes and exits to avoid dead end situations. There may be also certain structural requirements associated with workplace activities involving highly flammable or otherwise hazardous substances. 

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