Additional details, resources, and progress updates will be posted here soon. Please check back for the latest information. If you have a question that isn't currently covered here, you can submit a question using our Google Form. We'll do our best to incorporate your questions into this webpage over time.
As part of a growing national awareness effort (sparked in part by the Winterthur Library’s Poison Book Project at the University of Delaware), UCR Library is addressing the historical presence of heavy metals (like lead, arsenic, and chromium) in a subset of our older collection, primarily books published before 1970.
We have partnered with UCR Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) to develop a comprehensive response. The EH&S Industrial Hygiene Team conducted an occupational exposure assessment study and found the overall health risk to be low. However, heavy metal residue transfer to hands was notably present after handling.
As a precaution, we are proactively implementing safety measures to prevent ingestion risk from hand-to-mouth contact (such as eating, drinking, or touching the face), in line with OSHA guidelines and EH&S recommendations, including staff training, signage, and protective encapsulation for affected books.
If you are handling books published before 1970, please follow these simple precautions:
- Wear nitrile gloves
- Do not eat, drink, vape, smoke, apply lip balm, or touch face
- Take care not to scratch the covers
- Wipe down your reading surface with a disposable wet wipe when finished
- Wash your hands thoroughly for at least 30 seconds afterwards
- Keep library materials away from children and pets who may chew on or handle them
Please note: Exposure risk comes primarily from ingestion, for example, eating without washing your hands after handling books, or touching your face. As with lead paint, the greatest concern is with sustained or repeated contact.