Joint Statement / Call ICOM-ICOMOS

ICOM (International Council of Museums) and ICOMOS jointly call upon the National Ministries of the member states of the European Union, the European Parliament and all European institutions in charge of the regulation, to repeal as soon as possible the classification of nitrogen as a biocidal active substance in the EU for the specific purpose of heritage preservation.

Nitrogen is globally used for the preservation of monuments and museum objects, in the context of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM), instead of other potentially hazardous chemical substances. There is no equivalent alternative in terms of preservation care and human health, for both staff and visitors of cultural heritage institutions.

We call upon the European Chemicals Agency to support this initiative and repeal as soon as possible the ban of nitrogen for heritage preservation in the EU.

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