Creosote vapors

Wendy Claire Jessup <prevcon [at] earthlink__net> writes

>Has anyone done any research on the affects of creosote vapors on
>furnishings, paintings, textiles, etc.?  I am working on a
>conservation assessment for an historic house museum where in the
>1960s the joists in the dirt crawlspace beneath the house were
>replaced by joists treated with creosote.  40 years later the
>creosote odor is very strong on the first floor of the building. The
>building is located in an area with high ambient RH year-round.   I
>have found references to human health only and have reviewed MSDS
>for creosote-coated wood products and information on products of
>combustion when creosote-treated wood is burned.  Any help/advice
>you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Let us know where the house is located (state?) and the physical
setting so some recommendations could be made to design a program to
at least minimize the  odor for the future.  One big problem is over
the years, the creosote has volatilized and redeposition has
occurred on every object and surface, especially in the crawl space
and first floor levels.

Thomas A. Parker, PhD
President, Entomologist
Pest Control Services, Inc.


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:20
                Distributed: Thursday, November 4, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-20-003
                                  ***