Preserving Our Plastic History

Museums are well known for meticulously preserving and caring for even the most fragile objects, but it’s the preservation of common plastics that is creating some of the biggest problems for curators today. When most people think of museums, ancient artifacts, fossils and famous paintings usually come to mind, but plastics are far more prevalent in museums than at first glance, and their deterioration can be a serious threat to the integrity of many museum exhibits.

A new program called the Preservation of Plastic Artifacts in Museum Collections-POPART for short- is a 42 month, multimillion dollar initiative addressing the growing problem of the deterioration of plastic artifacts and displays in museums across the globe.

When many plastics degrade they give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or even acids that can eat away at other artifacts. Once a plastic starts to degrade there is little that can be done to salvage it. Combating this problem is further complicated by the countless varieties of plastic polymers out there, each one breaking down in a unique way and releasing different harmful toxins.

Museums are now realizing the importance of treating plastics with care as they are experiencing some of the many dangers first hand. Although they may have an extremely long life span, as soon as plastics begin to degrade they become a danger to the priceless collections in museums around the world.

Further Reading: ScienceNews Article
Photo courtesy of John lee/National Museum of Denmark

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