Analysis of Pesticide Residues on Museum Objects Repatriated to the Hupa Tribe of California

Abstract

In the past, it was common practice for museum professionals and private collectors to apply a variety of pesticide agents to objects in their collections to preserve them from depredations by microorganisms, fungi, and other pests. The Native American Graves Repatriation and Protection Act allows federally recognized tribes to request that museums return objects taken from their ancestors. Given that poor records were kept on the treatment of individual objects, it is unknown whether specific objects are contaminated with these pesticide agents. Although chemical analysis represents the only reliable means to determine the types and levels of pesticides on these objects, surprisingly few publications document the extent of this contamination in museum collections. This paper reports on the determination of arsenic, mercury, and several organic pesticides on 17 objects that were recently repatriated to the Hupa tribe in northern California. Four samples were taken from each object: two for arsenic and mercury analysis via flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and two for organic pesticide analysis via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Percent levels (wt/wt) of mercury were detected on many samples, and 0.001 to 0.183% (wt/wt) levels of p-dichlorobenzene, naphthalene, thymol, lindane, and/or DDT were detected on many of the samples. These results indicate that Hupa tribal members should not wear these objects in religious ceremonies, proper precautions should be followed when dealing with potentially contaminated objects, and that more serious consideration should be given to this issue at a national level.

Preparation of High‐Purity 2,6‐Naphthalenedicarboxylic Acid from Coal Tar Distillate

“…The DMN fraction of wash oil supplied by Huanghua Xinnuo Lixing Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and its composition is reported in Tab. .…”

Pesticides and Herbicides

“…Water Environment Research, Volume 76, Number 6 1800 and sea water along a pollutant plume. Palmer et al (2003) revealed that pesticide residues on objects repatriated from a museum to a Native American tribe contained percent levels (wt/wt) of mercury on nearly every object and sub-percent levels of pdichlorobenzene, lindane and DDT on many objects.…”

Fast, Nondestructive, and Cost-Effective Methods to Detect Pesticide Residues: A Case Study of Several Repatriated Karuk Tribe Artifacts

“…Determining organic pesticides on artifacts is more challenging due to wide variety of these species that have been used to treat these artifacts, the lower levels found on artifacts as they slowly volatilize or degrade over time, and the cost and complexity of the methods used to measure them. Gas Chromatography (GC) coupled with Mass Spectrometry (MS) is the method of choice here due to its ability to separate complex mixtures and provide definitive identification of specific pesticides at trace levels (Palmer et al 2003).…”