Methyl bromide

Canadian Conservation Institute Technical Bulletin 15 ("Solving Museum
Insect Problems: Chemical Control," p. 12) notes that materials
containing sulphur (including sulfide process paper) should not be
treated with methyl bromide.  This prohibition would logically extend to
aluminum sulfate size, and possibly to any paper aged in a polluted
urban environment.  Research from the Netherlands on paper aged in the
poorly controlled environment of basement stacks of the New York Public
Library noted increases in sulfur content at the edges of textblocks and
correlated uptake of SO2 with increased pH (see "Proceedings of the 1988
Paper Preservation Symposium," Washington, DC, Oct 19-21, p. 78,
available from

    TAPPI Press
    Technology Park
    P.O. Box 105113
    Atlanta GA  30348

Karen Motylewski
Northeast Document Conservation Center

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 6:47
                 Distributed: Sunday, February 28, 1993
                        Message Id: cdl-6-47-001
                                  ***