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typical Smithsonian locations of chemical hazards, biohazards, and hazardous physical agents, and indicated the Safety Division's role in identifying, evaluating, and controlling them. Mr. Sniechoski also outlined current activities and the extent of the Smithsonian's intersection with other institutions, especially museums and universities, on such matters. In discussion with the Committee Mr. Sniechoski suggested that the Division's operations in the future will require additional resources to ensure a safer environment for employees, volunteers, and visitors through more comprehensive oversight of the storage, use, and disposal of these materials.

Introducing the second topic for this meeting, Mr. Wilcox briefly described the history and purposes of the Museum Support Center. He emphasized the importance of Support Center programs which provide environmental protection for the collections, noting especially the tightly-controlled interior temperature and humidity, extensive pest controls, technologically-advanced security systems, and computerized collection information systems. Explaining that the Center had not yet reached its potential due in large measure to difficulties and delays in installing a large proportion of collections storage equipment, he led the Committee on a tour of various Center facilities, including the anthropology processing laboratory, an as-yet vacant dry-storage pod, the partially-occupied wet-storage pod, and the Center's library.

Dr. van Zeist greeted the Committee in the Center's lecture hall and gave a concise overview of the Conservation Analytical Laboratory. He described the major foci of Laboratory operations in five separate but mutually reinforcing programs: archaeometry, conservation