Subject: Styrofoam
I recently had a question from another librarian that I was unable to answer, so I'm hoping for some help. In an attempt to preserve paper records that by necessity must be kept in a damp environment or are likely to get wet, materials are being stored in styrofoam ice coolers. Does anyone know if this is a potentially dangerous practice? Are any paper- damaging fumes or acids created by the degradation of styrofoam? Will condensation inside the coolers create moisture problems? Is styrofoam acidic? This storage system seems like a bad idea to me, but I have no factual basis for my feeling. Thanks for any help you can offer. Janice Mohlhenrich Preservation Librarian Marquette University *** Conservation DistList Instance 6:29 Distributed: Thursday, November 26, 1992 Message Id: cdl-6-29-008 ***Received on Tuesday, 24 November, 1992