Thanks for your reply to my posting. I think you are right
about the idea of consolidation.  Others have
suggested consolidating with Vinac or some such product,
but my past experience has suggested that it would be
difficult to avoid giving the specimen an unnatural gloss
and a spiked-hair quality that would be very misleading.
The soft luster and furry quality of chrysotile seem to
me like essential qualities.  Perhaps there is no real
alternative to the display case that could make the stuff
usable in teaching labs.
 
I was interested in your reference to cinnabar.  Does it
pose a real health risk because of mercury vapor, and if
so, under what conditions?  Just in storage, or (for
example) under the conditions that would obtain in an
introductory mineralogy lab?  Does the grade of the material
matter (i.e., would a bin of low-grade material be exempt
from the vapor concern)?
 
By the way, I hope you received my note back in October asking
for further information about the proposed conservation short
course.
 
Regards,
Craig Sanders
[log in to unmask]