Health and safety must take precedence: an external inspector has identified mold spores, posing a credible risk—particularly to Dr. Emily Carter given her severe respiratory condition. Applying the precautionary principle and the museum’s duty of care, immediate quarantine minimizes potential harm and fulfills ethical and legal obligations to protect and warn staff and visitors. While this may cause operational disruption and unwanted press, transparent decisive action sustains public trust and mitigates liability; furthermore, provenance concerns introduce potential bias in downplaying the risk. Dialogue and further testing can proceed after containment, but exposure prevention cannot wait.