Emergency Prepardedness

Emergencies can include natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes, but they also encompass power outages, small leaks, system malfunctions, fires, and vandalism. It is not only important to safeguard collections and improve storage to help prevent damage during an emergency situation, but also to plan ahead and have a system of response in place prior to any disaster occurring. 

Planning

Conservators can help evaluate risks to the collection and facilitate writing an emergency response plan. 

During a 2015 workshop, Writing and Implementing an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, I helped the curator/ collections manager for the Paley Design Center of Philadelphia University adapt this pocket plan template (developed by the Council of State Archivists) to fit in with the campus-wide incident command system. As a conservator I was able to provide a different perspective that highlighted unforeseen risks and propose strategies for working with local first responders. 


When working on site it is important to install necessary safety features (first aid supplies, solvent cabinet, etc.) and/or identify their locations before beginning conservation work. 

I was in charge of drafting the safety plan shown here for a large-scale public conservation project at Villanova University. For more information about the conservation treatment see 

Conserving a Giant: Resurrecting Pietro da Cortona's Triumph of David


Training

Conservators can facilitate training staff in disaster response. I have experience with table top exercises and mock water and fire disasters. Although I specialize in painted surfaces, I am familiar with how to handle and triage a wide variety of materials including paper archives, photographs, and textiles. 


Example of a small-scale mock water event set up during graduate school photo conservation course. 

Here I am rinsing off dirty water from the surface of a photograph in the disaster

This is an example of a workshop on emergency planning and preparedness. Pictured here curators, collections managers, archivists, and conservators worked together to practice handling different types of wet objects. This image is courtesy of colleague, Steven O'Banion. 

 

Health and Safety

When responding to an emergency event it is import to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow the recommendations of first responders and public safety officials. 

Conservators also work with chemicals on a regular basis during bench treatment. It is important to implement safety protocols and stay informed about proper handling, storage, and PPE for different materials. While at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, I helped implement the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling chemicals and adapted label templates (like the one pictured to the right) for easy use in the labs. 

Using Format