AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

It has been over ten years since Shin Maekawa and Kerstin Elert published The Use of Oxygen-Free Environments in the Control of Museum Insect Pests (Getty Conservation Institute, 2003), which detailed the assembly and use of a nitrogen-based system for anoxia. Although conservators and scientists continued to develop new methods, materials, and technologies for anoxic treatments in the past decade, little of this information has been published. Each of the five panel speakers has been involved with the development and/or use of a different type of anoxic treatment setup at their institution or private practice. Variables for each of these systems range in the inert gas used, technical details of gas delivery, treatment time involved, materials associated with setup, and costs associated with assembly and maintenance. After a short introduction by the moderator, each panelist will briefly present his or her anoxic system. Presentations will focus on the practical details, pros, and cons associated with each system's assembly, use, and cost. A moderated discussion period will follow, where systems will be compared, potential future research needs will be discussed, and possible avenues for publication and dissemination of the information presented will be examined. The authors propose an hour for this panel overall; 30 minutes for presentations and 30 minutes for discussion. Speakers: Rachael Perkins Arenstein (Conservator, A.M. Art Conservation, LLC) will speak on the use of oxygen scavengers. William Donnelly (Conservation Assistant, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library) will speak on the use of a CO2-based system. Arlen Heginbotham (Conservator of Decorative Arts & Sculpture, The J. Paul Getty Museum) will speak on the history of anoxic treatment at the Getty and recent modifications to a nitrogen-based system. Bret Headley (Owner and Principal Conservator, Headley Conservation Services, LLC) will speak on the development and use of a nitrogen-based system. Eric Breitung (Research Scientist, The Metropolitan Museum of Art) will speak on the development and use of an argon-based system.