Old Poisons, New Problems is a timely and welcome practical guide to identifying, testing for, and dealing with contaminated cultural materials archived in museum collections. With increasing indigenous involvement in the collection, handling, and—more recently—the repatriation of cultural artifacts formerly held in museum archives, there is an increasing need to educate both the museum community and tribal members about the potential risks of pesticide contamination on museum collections, and provide the means to test for, identify, analyze, and safely handle these artifacts. Special features include worksheets for performing basic tests, charts of scientific and historical information on known pesticides, data resources, and illustrations. This book will be widely used by members of the museum community, as well as the tribal groups, involved with the managing of these collections.

"With increasing indigenous involvement in the collection, handling, and repatriations of artifacts formerly held in museum archives, it's about time for Old Poisons, New Problems, which discusses the ins and outs of cultural materials contaminated by pesticides." - Museum News

"Dedicated to a broad definition of the problems associated with the presence of contaminants on cultural property, it provides useful information for professionals with a wide variety of perspectives. . .the overall result is a book, which should spark discussion, disseminate a variety of points of view, and provide resources for further research on the topic." - Collections

"The authors of Old Poisons, New Problems have written a book that sensitizes the reader to the issues faced by tribal members, and provides a massive amount of important information that will be invaluable for many years to come as the decontamination process is defined and proceeds." - Museum Anthropology

"The authors demonstrate that effective dialogue requires representation from a broad group that includes conservators, First Nations, industrial hygienists, and chemists. The book also strives to equip the participants with the common language needed to enter into effective discussions around the use and repatriation of contaminated belongings... Numerous other resources included will ensure that Old Poisons, New Problems gathers little dust in museum labs. Overviews of analytical test methods, spot-testing instructions, history of the legislated use of pesticides in the United States and easy to read charts outlining characteristics, classification, and trade names of pesticides are but a few of the items which make this volume a solid resource." - Journal Of The Canadian Association For Conservation