Odor removal

My heart goes out to skunk sprayed book owners. I frequently get
telephone calls asking about the removal of organic odors caused by
smoke and mildew using ozone.  This is a common commercial practice and
one that has no place for valuable artifacts.

Tell your patron that whatever advise he or she gets, this option is
likely to cause massive damage if followed.  Ozone is a very strong
oxidant and will aggressively attack most of the components of a book.
Probably fresh circulating air may be the best immediate treatment.
Since the offending agent can be smelled, it must be highly volatile.
Work on that strategy.

James Druzik
The Getty Conservation Institute

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:37
                 Distributed: Sunday, November 13, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-8-37-004
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