Re: [ARSCLIST] TAPE resources online

["Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 01:30 AM 2007-08-17, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > that the long polymer chains break down with moisture (and the
> > inherent instability of the polyester polyurethanes that were used)
> ...
> Next important question...! How do these polymolecular polyester
> polyurethanes affect the chemical reactions inherent in the chemical
> process of "life"...human and/or otherwise...?!

No reports that I have seen identify these as harmful to life, but 
the usual precautions apply -- i.e. wash your hands before meals, 
avoid breathing fumes (I wear a respirator when I'm dealing with 
moldy tapes, but the breakdown products don't seem to fly all over 
the place), etc.

As I understand it, the broken chains are still mostly captive in the 
matrix and it takes the energy of pulling the tape past something to 
get them to come off. I don't think it's like asbestos, for example.

I'm not a doctor nor medical researcher, so if anyone has any better 
information, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers,

Richard

Richard L. Hess                   email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada       (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.