Pesticide residues on the Cook-Voyage Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Eighteen objects from the Cook-voyage collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, were analysed for selected pesticide residues, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), followed by analysis with a handheld x-ray fluorescence (HH-XRF) unit. The intention was to discover what pesticides had been used on the collections to better inform conservation decision making. The results showed that the collection had been treated with a range of organic and inorganic pesticides. The analytical methods applied proved to be complementary, with XRF used as an initial qualitative screen for the detection of elements found in inorganic pesticides, and ICP-MS and GC-MS providing data for elements in inorganic and targeted organic pesticides respectively. The results of the analytical methods could not be directly compared due to the large number of variables present in the methodology