– We did one measurement in there and it showed a large amount of radioactivity in a watch, says Grethe Paulsen Vie. She is head of department and conservator at the Haugaland Museum. It was the Defense Museum that made her aware of the danger of radioactivity and asbestos in collections from the Second World War. – Aircraft instruments and later radio transmitters contained radioactive material which was used, among other things, to be able to see aircraft instruments in the dark, says Vie. CONSERVATOR: Grethe Paulsen Vie in the Haugaland Museum is considering how to handle the objects that have radioactivity and asbestos in them. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news There are several of these in the collection. The museum contacted the Norwegian Aviation Museum, which has assisted with a visual review of the objects. In the Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, they are well aware that numbers on clocks were previously painted with radioactive paint to glow in the dark. – It is not dangerous as long as the glass on the clock is intact, and it looks like it is at this museum, says emergency manager Astrid Liland. If the glass is broken, Liland recommends being more careful. – It still takes quite a lot of contact before it becomes dangerous, she says. HEADLAMP: Asbestos was found in the gasket between the glass and the metal. AIRCRAFT: This was placed, among other things, on merchant ships during the Second World War. There is asbestos on wires and in gaskets. MUST TAKE SAMPLES: An Opel Blitz from the collection may have asbestos. May have to get rid of objects The museum also has several objects that contain asbestos. – A part on a car, pipes or wires on an object, gloves, cannons, a torpedo launch pad and searchlights, says department head Vie. Before the asbestos ban came in 1985, it was used, among other things, around pipelines, in gaskets and valves. Asbestos is not dangerous if it is intact, but the museum has found parts that have been damaged. These will be sampled. – What would you say to those who have visited before this was discovered? – There is no danger. We just want to be sure that it will be safe at the museum, and to eliminate any objects that could pose a danger for the future, says Vie. The conservator hopes that the museum can be opened again in the summer. But first they may have to get rid of some of the items. – It could be an opportunity. But another is to seal an area or those items that have asbestos. Or placing objects with radioactivity in them in a display case, she explains. All museums should go through the collection. At the Norwegian Folk Museum, they are working on a project on pesticides, on how to work with different materials in the future. NORWEGIAN FOLK MUSEUM: Fredrikke Bang Lysgård is head of the conservation department at the Norwegian Folk Museum. Photo: Private – All museums should review their collections and have control over what they have. And what materials they are made of, says head of department Fredrikke Bang Lysgård in the conservation department. In some objects, it would be surprising to find, for example, asbestos. – In old snow globes with fake snow and glitter, the snow is often asbestos, she says. The museum has also found radioactivity in an old X-ray machine in the past. – All old objects can contain dangerous substances Artifact conservator at the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Michael Loftus, says there is a greater focus on dangerous substances in museum objects now than there has been before. – It is an important part of the conservator’s education. And there is a greater focus because we have gained better knowledge, he says. But war history museums do not have objects with more dangerous substances than other types of museums. – All old objects can contain dangerous substances, so it’s something you have to be careful about and have enough knowledge about, regardless of which museum you work at, he says.
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Arquebus war history museum had to close because objects were radioactive – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
