Assessment of arsenic surface contamination in a museum anthropology department.

Andrey Gribovich, Steven Lacey, John Franke, David Hinkamp

Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Journal of occupational and environmental medicine / American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2013 Feb

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To assess potential arsenic (As) contamination of work surfaces to improve upon the control strategy at an anthropology department in a large natural history museum. Work practices were observed and control strategy reviewed to inform an occupational hygiene assessment strategy utilizing surface wipe sampling. A total of 35 sampling targets were identified, focusing on surfaces that receive high touch traffic, including workstations, artifact transport carts, and elevator buttons. Arsenic sampling and analysis were performed using reference method Occupational Safety and Health Administration ID-125G. Four of the sampling areas returned detectable levels of As, ranging from 0.052 to 0.350 μg/100 cm. Workplace observations and wipe sampling data enabled the development of recommendations to help to further reduce potential occupational exposure to As. Continuous reduction of surface contamination is prudent for known human carcinogens.

Citation

Andrey Gribovich, Steven Lacey, John Franke, David Hinkamp. Assessment of arsenic surface contamination in a museum anthropology department. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine / American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2013 Feb;55(2):164-7