Puerto Rico - One Year Later

I sit here comfortably in my home. The lights on, heat when I need it, and even water (this is sporadic due more to regional geographic issues than natural disasters). Even this year in the mid-west crazy events are happening on unusual scales - flooding and endless rainfalls, record numbers of days with tornadoes. Nationally, the incredible weather events this spring make one wonder if some of their underlying causes are related to climate change.

Lost siding from strong winds on the Museo de
Arte de Puerto Rico. 

It was only a year ago I found myself in Puerto Rico surveying collection damage for FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Maria. I was reminded of this fact by FEMA's countdown clock which announced next hurricane season begins June 1st.

Blue tarps on unprepared roofs.

A year later and Puerto Rico's recovery is far from complete. Perhaps a roof has been repaired on an university's library. Volunteers, like me, have come and gone. But I can't helping asking myself if the  the collections that library roof had once protected will ever be the same. Can students safely read the books without masks? Will the staff at the library every resume their jobs or health?

LIbrary at the Universidad de PR-Humacao.
The roof was completely lost.

Circulation dest at the library at the Universidad
de PR-Humacao.

Capuana Ceremonial Ball Courts site, Utuado.

Metal building in Caguas.

Museo Casa Antonio Roig, Humacao.

Moisture in the walls of Casa Alonso, Vega_Baja.

Mold is silent, till it is awakened
Waves of assistance come and go
No electricity or generators,
More mold grows

Am I safe?
Are my loved ones safe?
My home, my belongings?
Yet mold grows

Mixed with a humid climate, mold grows
Stone walls remain wet
Wind can slow it, if at the shore
More mold grows

Collections are disfigured
Collections are distorted
Collections are never the same
As more mold grows

What is the remedy?
Without assistance
More mold grows

Happy New Year!

As we come to the end of 2018, we take a moment to look back at the year. The projects completed and history preserved. The new and interesting places work has taken us this last year. From leading a magnets workshop at Dartmouth to assisting with the hurricane aftermath in Puerto Rico, even multiple trips across the Atlantic to present at conferences. 2018 has been a wonderfully busy year at Spicer Art Conservation.

For our traditional holiday card this year we featured pictures from some of the many items that were treated in the studio this year, including a signed print by Victor Vasarely and a portrait of Mr. Albert N. Briggs. The lovely 1909 Wedding Dress was restored to its former beauty and packed so it will last for many more generations and a silk souvenir from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago was framed for display. Fire damaged items often make their way into the studio to be cleaned and repaired, such as the painted Norwegian bench which after cleaning was stunning in its color and style.

The summer of 2018 also saw a 1910 Stoddard-Dayton Limousine brought into the studio for work on the interior upholstery. To read more about this treatment check out the blog that written shortly after the treatment was completed.

Finally, when not hard at work in the studio treating objects, Gwen was busy putting the finishing touches on her new book, Magnetic Mounting Systems for Museums & Cultural Institutions, which will be out in early 2019. As a part of her continuing work with magnets, Gwen took many trips this past year, hosting workshops and presenting at different conferences both here and abroad. In her “spare time” she also went down to Puerto Rico to assist with the post hurricane damage assessment of their cultural heritage.

We hope you have enjoyed this little look back at 2018 with us and while we look forward to another exiting and fun filled year, we wish you a wonderful 2019!

Gwen, Mark, and Kimberly

Spicer Art Conservation LLC

Beware “Fake” Dust Masks and Respirators

As part of a FEMA team deployed to Puerto Rico, Gwen is volunteering her conservation expertise this spring to cultural institutions that continue their recovery from last fall’s devastating hurricanes. She and her colleagues use dust masks and N95 particulate respirators on a daily basis to protect themselves from a range of non-oil based airborne particulates, including mold.

In the warm and humid environment of Puerto Rico, mold grows quickly. In addition to the damage it causes to objects, textiles, and paper-based materials, it has the potential to cause health problems. Allergic reactions are common and can be immediate or delayed. Respiratory protection is essential and the safest, most reliable gear is approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness.

The N95 respirator is the most common of the seven types of particulate filtering facepiece respirators and filters at least 95% of airborne particles but is not resistant to oil.

To their surprise, the team found that some of the dust masks in use are not approved by NIOSH. Rather, they are marketed as NISH-approved, which is not a legitimate designation.

Gwen urges you to check your dust masks and respirators to ensure they are N95 NIOSH approved and discard those that are not.

Resources

NIOSH is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can learn more about NIOSH at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/about/default.html

Respiratory Protection for Residents Reentering and/or Cleaning Homes that Were Flooded  https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/disease/respiratory.html 

Training videos for respirators  (available in Spanish and English) https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/respiratoryprotection/training_videos.html 

Una Breve Guía para el Moho en el lugar de trabajo (available in Spanish and English) https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib101003.html 

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/disease/respiratory.html 

When Water Strikes, It's a Freezer to the Rescue!

Unusually warm temperatures last week have caused rivers and creeks in our area to swell, flooding low-lying areas. Earlier this winter the River Seine rose to flood stage, causing the Louvre to implement emergency protocols and close its lower level.

When a water disaster strikes a textile collection or organic collection, a humble freezer can become an institution's best friend. Subjecting items to a deep freeze will halt bacterial and fungal activity and give an institution time to develop a remediation and conservation plan. Procedures for freezing textiles should be a part of any organization's disaster plan.

No natural water disaster or leak is too small or large for a freezer to be helpful.

And the faster the response time, the better.

It is important to place the textiles into the freezer as soon as possible to minimize mold growth. Ideally, items should be wrapped in plastic with minimal folds or overlaps, thus creating a larger surface area. Interleave fabric layers with freezer or waxed paper to prevent dye transfer.

Attached labels added to the packages

Items should be spaced apart from each other to promote rapid freezing, preferable in separate packages. Insure that the package are labeled with information about the artifact, including the accession number. The more information included the better since it might be a while until they can be addressed. Do not rely on your memory of what is inside.

           

Fabric layers are separated with freezer or waxed paper 

            

Previously frozen textiles await cleaning

                         

Water damaged textiles can then be removed from a freezer and quickly wet cleaned.

In consultation with a conservator a proposal can be developed to treat the water-damaged textiles.

Additional Resources

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. "Salvaging Water Damaged Textiles."  Accessed February 15, 2018.

Connecting to Collections Care. Video, "Salvage of Water Damaged Textiles." Source: Video demonstration of salvaging wet textiles – Preservation Australia. Accessed February 15, 2018.

FEMA Fact Sheet. "Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms."  Accessed February 24, 2018.

National Park Service. Conserv-O-Gram, "Salvage at a Glance, Part V." 2003. Accessed February 15, 2018.