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During and after first pressure washing on July 23 (NPS photos) |
Gettysburg
National Military Park has a suggestion to visitors after a misunderstanding
this week: If you think you have seen an act of vandalism, tell us about it
first before you put photos on social media.
That occurred
when some people who saw a dark-colored substance on the Arkansas Memorial posted images on Facebook, saying it was vandalism, said park acting public
affairs officer Jason Martz.
In a news
release, the park said monument preservation staff had sprayed a biological
cleaning solution, known as D2, at the memorial on Wednesday afternoon as rain
began falling.
“This
biological cleaning solution requires the surface to be cleaned to be wet
before application and passing summer rains provide a perfect opportunity to
quickly and effectively begin this process. The solution was allowed to set up
overnight and monument preservation staff began cleaning the memorial the
following morning on July 23,” Martz said.
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| Staff uses biological agent before second washing (NPS photo) |
Monument
maintenance targets mold, algae and lichens on the stone. Those growths turn
different colors as they are being killed. “When the
reds, yellows, and oranges mix over time, the overall color turns very dark.
This is what was reported as vandalism by park visitors.”
Repeated
applications clean such monuments, and any residual staining will be bleached
out by the sun within a few days.
It appears photos posted on social media were taken between the application of the solution and the pressure washing the next day. Martz told
the Civil War Picket a Facebook page that had a post alleging vandalism took
the item down.
The park,
while acknowledging public interest in protecting monuments, said concerned visitors should email staffers
by email via the “Contact Us” link on its website,
send a direct message on the Facebook page or contact any park employee they
may see.
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