Judy,
I think that you succinctly hit the issue right on the
head - what exactly is the "Formica" in question. It is unlikely that we
can determine that, nor is it likely that there will be any testing information
on that exact product if it can be identified. In addition to the issues
you raised, there also is some concern with the adhesive used to secure it
to the wood, although if properly installed, this should be covered completely
by the Formica.
So here is what we know. The drawers are made of
wood and that is undesirable in connection with paper inside file folders.
The Formica covers the wood, probably rather effectively sealing out the
volatiles from the wood. So, this situation may be better than wood only,
depending upon the issues surrounding the Formica. Since it sounds like
the use of the cabinet is for files, not for collection objects, this may be
fine. As contact will not occur between the contents and the Formica,
off-gassing is the primary concern. As a safety precaution, consider
lining the bottoms (and sides if possible) of the drawers with thin acid-free
board, probably buffered (or the specialty scavenger products sold by
conservation suppliers if the budget allows it), as is being done already in the
rare book case. The hanging folders could have acid-free folders inserted
inside them, which would hold the contents. Then, if anything harmful
off-gassed, it would be absorbed by the board/folders rather than the items - at
least in theory. I hope this helps.
Marc
American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
4
Rockville Road
Broad Brook, CT
06016
www.conservator.com
860-386-6058
*Collections Preservation Consultation
*Conservation Assessments &
Surveys
*Environmental Monitoring & Low-Tech Control
*Moisture
Management Solutions
*Collections in Historic Structures
*Collections Care
Grant Preparation
*Conservation Treatment of:
Furniture
Painted Wood
Horse-Drawn Vehicles
Architectural Interiors
Marc A. Williams, President
MS in Art
Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
Former Chief
Wooden Object Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 12:04
PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Use of Formica to
Line Drawers
Here's a question that I hope some of the conservators and
conservation-minded individuals on Museum-L can answer. It was
originally posted to Archives and Archivists List and the poster received a
few replies there so I volunteered to try here.
Background and
question:
" A friend of mine, who is volunteering in Jerusalem to help
organize the archives of a small rare-book museum. The building is quite
old
with 18-inch thick walls. All of the cabinets and file units are
made of
wood. In the rare book case, 1/16-inch acid-free board lines
the shelves. She has some concerns about the use of Formica.
Following is an excerpt from her e-note:
... the
file drawers (wood)
are lined with formica. I hope that it is also
inert because the head
honcho wants me to use them for the files, in hanging folders. I know
that isn't the best, arrangement. Let me know what you think about the
formica. Would lining the bottoms of the drawers with Mylar be
beneficial? ... "
Lynne F. Wohleber, Archivist
Episcopal
Diocese of Pittsburgh
900 Oliver Building
535 Smithfield
St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-325-0087 x138
FAX:
412-471-5591
[log in to unmask]
Here's
a portion of the reply I sent to Lynne last week, directing her to some
standard online resources:
Off the top of my head, I'd say it will be
hard to come up with a definitive answer without lab testing. Formica is
one of those product names used by a lot of people to describe a group of
composite materials that vary from manufacturer to manufactures (like xerox,
kleenex, refrigerator), let alone country to country. I'd hazard a
semi-educated guess and say the biggest problem is likely to come from
whatever finish is applied to the top surface to seal it.
Meanwhile,
you can check the Conservation OnLine (CoOL) web site for information http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/ and
do a google search for Formica "Material Safety Data Sheets".
Conservators rely on the MSDS
to make judgments about products; since your
friend is in Israel, she might want to check there as the product suggested
might be made differently for export than it would be for use in the
U.S.
Judy ... Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.
I was waiting for clarification from my friend in Jerusalem. Her
wording in the original e-mail was not clear, but what she needs to know about
is the safety of using standard Formica, such as is used for
kitchen.
Lynne got back to me last night and she has checked CoOL and
looked for
formica related MSDS's but neither helped her in seeking advice
to share with her friend. And all she learned from further contact is
that the material is the product(s?) used in kitchens.
I was
hoping to find out if the material in question was imported from the U.S. or
Europe or if it was of local manufacture since I thought that might make a
difference. Also, at first reading I thought the mylar lining was a good
idea. Then I recalled the problems we had interleaving mylar between
bound volumes on open bookshelves during Milwaukee's very dry winters so I
have reservations about that step given Israel's dry climate.
Any advice, including contacts with Israeli conservators would be
greatly appreciated. If you want to contact Lynne directly, her
email
is [log in to unmask]; if you
want to post replies here, I'll forward them to her.
Thanks very
much.
Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay,
WI
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