Anoxia

Marcela Rossello de las Casas <marcelarossello [at] hotmail__com> writes

>I am interested in getting a fumigation chamber, I recall reading
>about an oxygen fumigation chamber called something like the Bubble.

I concur with conservation scientist, Mary-Lou E. Florian, that
freezing as a means of eradicating existing infestation of artifacts
is probably much quicker and cheaper than investing in a "Bubble"
for anoxic treatments.  Her article, The Freezing Process-Effects on
Insects and Artifact Materials, was first introduced to the museum
community in Leather Conservation News, Volume 3, Number 1, Fall
1986.

Others have performed extensive testing of freezing.  Thomas J. K.
Strang of the Canadian Conservation Institute of Ottawa, Canada
generated a very thorough review of these methods in A Review of
Published Temperatures for the Control of Pest Insects in Museums
(Collection Forum, 8(2), 1992, pp. 41-67.

If you insist on obtaining a Bubble, let me say that Colin P. Smith,
General Manager of the Project Development Unit of the Rentokil
Group PLC, a world-wide pest control firm headquartered in Felcourt,
East Grinstead, West Sussex, England, developed the Bubble in the
late 80's.  It was originally designed for use with methyl bromide
for fumigation of small quantities of foodstuffs.  The museum
community adopted it for use first with carbon dioxide, then
nitrogen, and also argon fumigations.  Rentokil has set up
distributorships in various countries.  You may want to contact them
to determine the availability of this unit and accessories for your
use.

Thomas A. Parker, PhD
Entomologist
Pest Control Services, Inc.
14 East Stratford Avenue
Lansdowne, PA 19050
610-284-6249





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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:57
                 Distributed: Friday, February 15, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-57-002
                                  ***