Objects made of such alloys include type metal, radiation shielding, pipes and cables, sash weights and toys. It forms hazardous salts of carbonates and oxides when in proximity to organic acids and moisture, these salts are friable, and respiratory equipment is needed when handling them. Dust and loose salts should be removed under IMS or water. He recommended that future collecting policies reject hazardous materials, or that the hazard is removed before acquisition. Known hazards must be highlighted by the use of tie on labels, and a gallery or stores hazard log should be compiled, specifying the position of each object and the hazard associated with it.
Hazard is defined as the potential to cause harm, risk is the likelihood of it happening.
In this way the danger, to whom it is a danger, where it is located, and in what circumstance it is dangerous, is identified. Likelihood x Severity. Both factors are given three levels and values, and the resulting figures will tell you what is the most likely risk which must be eliminated. This is reduced by prevention, discontinuation, enclosure, substitution, isolation, and reduction of time of exposure. Joan Waters of The Science Museum then talked on ' A Curatorial Approach To Chemical Hazards, with special reference to experimental and industrial chemical collections.