Introduction and objectives:

The Conservation and Restoration sector has not yet been approached by Occupational Health in a complete or exhaustive way, so there are several knowledge gaps in relation to their risk factors/ occupational risks.

The aim of the authors was to collect and summarize all the information found on the topic, as a starting point for other pertinent projects in the context of occupational health of these professionals. However, as the articles found were very scarce, a further revision was made on the generic risks that Mercury could have on human health, in order to address the issue more fully and to make a more informed introduction.

Methodology:

This Review was elaborated in November of 2018, using the search engines Scopus, Pub Med, Web of Science, Science Direct, Academic Search Complete, CINALH, Med Line, Database of Abstracts and Reviews, Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Nursing and Allied Health Collection, MedicLatina and RCAAP.

Content / Results:

Since the Mercury is very toxic, it becomes pertinent that the Conservator-Restorer can see if it exists in the object to be restored.

An article quantified the Mercury existing in the ink used to color some eighteenth- century books. This team found very high levels in two copies. In the analyzed books, the concentration of mercury was higher in areas with more skin contact (cover, back cover and spine). In another article by the same team of researchers, it was concluded that the Mercury concentration was higher on the outer surfaces of the books, with some diffusion to the inner pages, but not to the more central areas. There were also several articles that mentioned a clinical case associated with a tapestry using the cinnabar pigment, which is composed of Mercury sulphide mixed with lead.

Discussion:

With so little bibliography on the medical risks of Mercury in Conservators/ Restorers, the authors have chosen to include in this section some data concerning other professionals who may also contact this agent. Among these, the artists who elaborate (or have elaborated in the past) works of art with pigments with Mercury, may be the most adequate, although also on these the bibliography is very reduced. It is believed that some famous painters (such as Rubens, Renoir, Dufy and Klee) often used pigments with Mercury, which some researchers consider as the etiology of certain pathologies.

Limitations:

The authors did not find data on the determination of Mercury in the environments of this professional sector in general, let alone in the various subsectors (except for Book Restoration) or by subtypes of Mercury. Information on the risk assessment associated with Conservator- Restorers also wasn’t found, based on assays obtained and analyzes at the workplace, or description of collective protection measures or adequate personal protective equipment (even specifying models and/ or materials).

Conclusions:

It has long been known that concrete and serious harm is associated with Mercury. However, the Conservation and Restoration sector is still very little studied in the context of Occupational Health and the risks of possible contact with Mercury are no exception. It would be very pertinent to have motivated teams to study this sector and to fill some of the limitations found, not developed in the international literature.

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