Ozone generators

We have a group of household items in our lab that were in a fire.
We have removed all the soot, but the various pieces still have a
smoky smell.  The pieces include souvenir-type wooden sculpture,  a
couple of souvenir-type oil paintings, children's drawings, and some
family photos framed and glazed.  We have worked on several similar
projects, and this is the first time we have had this problem.

I have always heard that ozone is a strong oxidizer and therefore
cannot be used on art, but this stuff has no long-term value, and my
main concern is whether the ozone could possibly alter the colors in
a major way.  I would appreciate information on what kind of
noticeable changes the ozone can be reasonably expected to cause.  I
would also appreciate information on whether the ozone really does
eliminate smells!

Also, does anyone know what kind of time period such a device is
used for, and would all effects show up right away?  I will probably
run some informal "tests" on things like newspaper and color slides
and some pigments or paint and will post the results.

Barbara Appelbaum
Appelbaum and Himmelstein
444 Central Park West
New York, NY  10025
Conservation of Works of Art
212-666-4630


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:2
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 27, 2010
                        Message Id: cdl-24-2-019
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