Re: foxing

["Mary W. Ballard" <BallardM@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Susan (& everyone) After a very long & exhaustively rigorous scientific process, at least one source of "foxing" was characterized by Dr. Hideo Arai as the metabolic products of tonophilic fungi (aka xerophilic fungi). He listed several specific parameters including a water activity level of 0.8 and temperatures of 20-35 degrees C.--parameters that would be consistent with the nature of cellulose, over & beyond the issue of hysteresis, to adsorb moisture at one rate and desorb at another (slower) rate. Arai's work should be published (one hopes!) in the Journal of International Beiodeterioration and Biodegradation. He gave this paper at the IBBS XI congress (August 1999) & the editors of IBBS  plan to collate the papers into a special issue/series of issues. Mary Ballard

>>> susanf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 06/07/00 11:42AM >>>
> Technically what you describe as "rust spots" may not be rust (iron rust/lepidocrocite) but rather the color produced microbial damage which is based on a melanin type of chemical structure ("..tiny specks on old garments...) Is the same as "foxing" on paper?
Susan Fatemi

EERC Library
University of California at Berkeley
susanf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx