[Nhcoll-l] Very slow small leak of formalin from acrylic container

Dr Jonathan Kemp j at jk-conservation.com
Wed Dec 6 17:41:09 EST 2023


Dear Simon and Paul

Many thanks for your advice.

re. Acrifix 104 - I cannot find this but wonder if you meant ACRIFIX® 2R 
1074 although this is not for water contact.

ACRIFIX® 2R 0190 appears to be versatile and used for gap filling.

The chloroform/tricholoromethane route does seem too difficult for our 
labs given it should be treated as a carcinogen with workplace exposure 
limited to 10ppm/8 hours.

many thanks Jonathan

On 7/12/23 01:48, Simon Moore wrote:
> Quick follow-up on Paul’s message,
>
> The organochlorines to which chloroform belongs are very useful solvents in this context, but you must bear in mind that it’s also known as tri-choloro methane when ordering otherwise it can cause alarm!
>
> With all good wishes, Simon
>
> Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
> Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian.
>
>
>> On 6 Dec 2023, at 13:37, Callomon,Paul<prc44 at drexel.edu>  wrote:
>>
>> One of the most effective penetrant solvent adhesives for acrylic sheet (Lexan, Plexiglass, Lucite etc.) is chloroform. At design school we used to use it to bond sheets edge-to-edge; applied with a hypodermic needle it flows into the tiniest cracks and bonds hard in seconds. Unlike Acryloid, epoxy and others, it's not a cement but a true cold weld that briefly dissolves both surfaces.
>> Obtaining it might be a bit harder these days, though, given its sedative/anesthetic/used-in-kidnappings qualities...
>>
>> Paul Callomon
>> Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates
>>
>> Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
>> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
>> prc44 at drexel.edu  Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nhcoll-l<nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>  On Behalf Of Dr Jonathan Kemp
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 10:04 PM
>> To:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Very slow small leak of formalin from acrylic container
>>
>> External.
>>
>> Dear All
>>
>> We have a loaned specimen in a smallish bespoke made rectangular acrylic container full of formalin. The box has a very slow and tiny leak from one end joint (before my time so I'm not sure how its been made).
>>
>> In the past acrylic resin (Acryloid B72) has been used to fix it but this never quite works - is there a better way to fix the leak while retaining all the contents (ie. not decanting the formalin & specimen)?
>>
>> btw. there is a small air gap (the formalin fills about 95% of the box) so it would be possible to turn the box so it dried out from the end joint before using anything....
>>
>> best wishes and thanks in advance
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
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