Foam deformation during pest treatments with nitrogen

Julianne Phippard <jphippard<-a t->britishmuseum< . >org> writes

>We are about to begin commissioning and testing our new anoxic pest
>treatment chamber which will use a nitrogen generator.  We are aware
>of experiments performed by the Winterthur Museum regarding the
>deformation of different foams during pest treatments with CO2, but
>we do not know if this would apply to treatments with nitrogen.  Has
>anyone encountered problems with foam objects, mounts or supports
>such as deformation or reduced compression resistance after
>treatment with nitrogen?

When I was working at the Hampshire Museums Service, I used to treat
taxidermy specimens, some of which were 'formed' with polyurethane
foam, using nitrogen anoxia.  I did not notice any particular
catalysing of the foam degradation by the nitrogen that we used. The
foam does slowly become crispy and crumbly over time anyway,
especially if handled a lot.

Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian,


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:23
                Distributed: Thursday, November 6, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-28-23-006
                                  ***