Iodide-Iodate tests

In Two Tests for the Detection of Volatile Organic Acids and
Formaldehyde (JAIC 33(1194):47-53), Jinping Zhang, David Thickett,
and Lorna Green reported that, when comparing the results of
iodide-iodate and chromotropic acid tests to the Oddy test with lead
that results,

   "correlated well... for the particular materials tested.  The
    chromotropic acid test is more sensitive than the Oddy test to
    formaldehyde.  Consequently, using this test may cause rejection
    of some materials that could have been used safely."

Following the procedure recommended in this article, I have been
obtaining positive iodide-iodate test results with samples of MDO
and MDF that fail to register in Oddy testing.  As the article does
not mention the iodide-iodate test being more sensitive than the
Oddy test, I'm wondering if anyone has had similar experiences in
correlating iodide-iodate tests results to Oddy test results.

Will Jeffers
Collections Care Specialist
Department of Scientific Research
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:45
                 Distributed: Friday, February 25, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-45-021
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