First question about black foam: it is probably a standard ester or ether
based foam.  both foams do emit some gas, the ester emits less than the ether.
 as long as the objects are a sealed package in they should be OK.  however,
the length of time they are in the crates can also be of concern.  you may
also note that these foams are very abrasive and should never be in direct
contact with any object.  while these foams are adequate for many objects, if
you are concerned about the off-gasing effects you may wish to request a
polyethylene foam instead whenever you can.  Dow makes a product called
Ethafoam and Sealed Air Corp makes a competing product.  I know that the Getty
has done an enormous amount of research in these areas, you may want to
contact their preperations department and see if they can offer you any
further guidance.
Second question about 'peanuts':  I have always recommended against peanuts.
while much of the packaging industry is using them more and more (whenever i
receive computer parts they are usually packed in them), i think they are
messy.  also, they make it very difficult to know if you have all of the
contents out of the box.  Depending on how the inner packages are wrapped,
they can also pose a danger to them when you plunge your hand in and dig about
retreiving the items.  it is much safer cna cleaner to use foam products, like
those described above, that come in sheets which you can cut and shape to form
a custom package.

Gary Acord

-----Original Message-----
From:   Museum discussion list  On Behalf Of Christine Mouw
Sent:   Tuesday, May 06, 1997 2:14 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        packing foam

Greetings:

I have a question for people who are more up on new archival packing
materials than I am.

We've gotten several shipping crates lately from other museums (whom I
would expect would use only archival-quality foams) that are filled with
a soft, spongy, black foam that doesn't look like any foam I've ever been
taught is safe to use.  I'm just wondering if there's been a new type of
foam that's ok to use with artifacts, or could it just be a coincidence that
these museums have the same non-archival foam lying about that they
used in these crates?

Also, while I've got your ears (eyes?), does anyone have an opinion on
using foam peanuts as filler in a packing crate when lightweight artifacts
are wrapped or boxed in an acid-free container inside the crate?

Just curious.

Christine Mouw
Assistant Curator
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum
West Branch, Iowa  52358
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