Testing plastics

Patricia L. Miller <plmxiha [at] prairienet__org> writes

>Is there an easy way to test "plastic" materials to see if they have
>plasticizers, etc.  Something like testing for pH in paper?  I'm
>thinking about bags, photo pockets, etc.  Probably too much to ask?

I have heard and seen that if you place a brittle plastic object so
it touches the material on trial, after a while (a couple of months)
the brittle object becomes plastic.  The example I saw was an eraser
and a transparent 12" ruler.

Not very scientific or rapid, but a good demonstration piece! (Good
luck with the search)

Mark Clarke
+44 171 277 1633

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:13
                 Distributed: Wednesday, July 26, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-9-13-001
                                  ***