Conservation of toilets from shipwreck

In response to Nicola Smiths' request for advice I can suggest the
use of 0.1% sodium sulphate as a corrosion inhibitor for lead and
lead composite materials.  As outlined in Pearson (1987), lead is
prone to dissolution in soft waters.  It is standard practice for us
to add sodium sulphate to all storage solutions for lead and lead
composite materials.  I have found no evidence of residue using this
concentration.  I would suggest that if a residue were to form on
ceramic that this could quite simply be removed with a light surface
swab.

Jessica Turner
Materials Conservator, Queensland Museum
P.O. Box 330
Sth BNE, QLD, 4101, Australia
+61 7 3840 7681
Fax +61 7 3846 1918

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:7
                  Distributed: Thursday, July 2, 1998
                        Message Id: cdl-12-7-010
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