Don't use Biz. See Shelton and Buckley, Collection Forum, Society for the
Prservation of Natural History Collections for a paper on the awful
effects it had on what was supposed to be a collection of rare fish bones
but was instead rare fish bone powder. There is also work at the
Conservation Analytical Laboratory in press that backs many of our
conclusions. It is a proprietary product, which means that you don't know
and often can't find out whjat's in it; it is not made for the purpose of
osteo prep; it caused intractable blue-green staining in everything from
camel to bat bones at a variety of sites; and it needs to be denatured and
hardly ever is. Please avoid this preparation. It is based on an outdated
and poorly tested paper.

Sally Shelton
Director, Collectiobs Care and Conservation


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|                 San Diego Natural History Museum                      |
|                          P. O. Box 1390                               |
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On Thu, 21 Dec 1995, Anita Cohen-Williams wrote:

> At the University of California at Santa Cruz, the physical anthropology lab
> used Biz detergent to accomplish the same thing. A large barrel full of water
> and Biz was set up, and the faunal remains placed inside. The top was then
> secured carefully. It is probably best to do this method off-site, due to the
> smell that leaks out of the container.
>
> Anita Cohen-Williams; Reference Services; Hayden Library
> Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ  85287-1006
> PHONE: (602) 965-4579              FAX: (602) 965-9169
> [log in to unmask]  Owner: HISTARCH, SPANBORD, SUB-ARCH
>