MUSEUM staff now have a way to detoxify pesticide-laden artefacts in their care. Using supercritical carbon dioxide, they can remove the dangerous amounts of DDT, PCBs and lindane that were once sprayed onto wooden statues and pieces of cloth to protect them from insects.
One way to get rid of the hazardous and unsightly white crust of pesticides that leaches out of these artworks is simply to wash them with water. But that is only a temporary solution, as the crust will re-form. And soaking artefacts for longer only damages them further, says Andreas Weber from the Fraunhofer Institute for…
