Ethafoam Nova

Our packing contractor has just asked me about a change made to
Dow's Ethafoam Nova (product #50862).  Nova was a white low density
polyethylene foam plank, suitable for cavity packing of objects, but
the latest supply is light green in colour.  When he queried Dow,
they said that a green concentrate containing isobutane(?) had been
added to the foam to differentiate it visually from Ethafoam 220.

Does anyone have information on whether this new version is suitable
for use with sensitive artifacts or whether the colorant might
offgas anything nasty?

Lynn A. Grant
Conservator
Loans and Traveling Exhibits
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:29
                 Distributed: Monday, November 20, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-29-020
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