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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I’d be very cautious about planning to store amber where it may be exposed to vapour phase biocides. See our preliminary study from 1988 and 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Qualitative study<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Preventive conservation of amber: Some preliminary investigations<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Janet Waddington and Julia Fenn<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><i><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Collection Forum, </span></i><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>4(2), 1988, pp. 25-31</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Quantitative study<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Infrared spectroscopic analysis of Central and South American amber exposed to<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>air pollutants, biocides, light, and moisture.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>R. Scott Williams, Janet B. Waddington, and Julia Fenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Collection forum, </span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>6(2), 1990, pp. 65-75<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Discussion<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Specimens exposed to naphthalene, camphor, or paradichlorobenzene individually<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>showed no visible alteration but in combination they caused cracking and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>severe softening of both old and new surfaces. IR spectra of specimens exposed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>to a mixture of all three show that all are absorbed (Fig. 6). Although these vapour<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>phase biocides seem to cause little or no chemical damage, the problems caused<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>by prolonged softening (dust adsorption, loss of surface gloss, and possible surface<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>sag) make their use either as insect repellants or corrosion inhibitors unacceptable<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>where amber is stored.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Conclusions<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Preliminary data suggest that amber can best be protected by 1) eliminating<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>ultraviolet light; 2) avoiding contact with vapour phase biocides and corrosion<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>inhibitors (especially in tightly closed containers where the vapour concentration<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>can reach high levels); and 3) maintaining a stable moderate humidity at room<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>temperature. Although several vapour phase biocides cause softening and other<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>damage to amber surfaces, Phostoxin had no apparent effect on amber. Amber<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>specimens that appear undegraded and intact may have weakened and friable<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>surfaces, and therefore should be displayed only in soft, shock absorbent support<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>systems.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Janet Waddington<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Departmental Associate, Natural History<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Royal Ontario Museum<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>janetw@rom.on.ca</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>