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Our facilities manager is looking to seal some holes and cracks in a masonry wall adjoining one of our prime collections storage areas.  The furnace for heating the storage area draws its air from the same location.  We are concerned about the off-gassing of any industrial sealant (like silicone) that would typically be used.  Is there a construction sealant that is safe to use in collections areas?

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Morgan Marks
Director
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
Cheyenne WY
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That's what I do at our place. You want to be sure to read the Techincal Data Sheet for any product, not just the label on the can. In this example (see link), you'll see it says, "Full cure may take 7-14 days or longer depending on ambient conditions and volume of sealant used," which accounts for off-gassing. After the "outside" time for a product -- in this instance, longer than 2 weeks if you're in a particularly cold or humid area -- you should be safe to move the objects (and people) back into the area.

https://www.ositough.com/content/dam/uac/osi/master/PDFs/TDS/quad_tds.pdf

Also, I'm in California, where nothing whatsoever is allowed or available for sale if there is any imaginable way it could harm laboratory rats.:)

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Leon Worden
Vice President, Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Newhall, CA
Lworden@scvtv.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2023 06:58 PM
From: Morgan Marks
Subject: construction sealants/epoxies safe for collections storage areas

Our facilities manager is looking to seal some holes and cracks in a masonry wall adjoining one of our prime collections storage areas.  The furnace for heating the storage area draws its air from the same location.  We are concerned about the off-gassing of any industrial sealant (like silicone) that would typically be used.  Is there a construction sealant that is safe to use in collections areas?

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Morgan Marks
Director
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
Cheyenne WY
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Hi Morgan,

Some museums are contributing results from their oddy testing to a public wiki maintained by AIC. It's a really helpful resource, there are definitely some silicone based sealants on the results list. 

Materials Testing Results

Wiki		remove preview
Materials Testing Results To Materials Testing Results Main Page To Contributor Oddy Testing Protocols To About the Oddy Test Oddy testing information and protocols are provided for informational purposes only. Neither AIC nor participating institutions endorse particular methods, products, businesses, or services. The following protocols are not vetted or peer-reviewed and should be assessed by each individual user for the accuracy of the results. View this on Wiki >

Hope this is helpful.

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Alison Clark
Collections Manager, Asian Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2023 06:58 PM
From: Morgan Marks
Subject: construction sealants/epoxies safe for collections storage areas

Our facilities manager is looking to seal some holes and cracks in a masonry wall adjoining one of our prime collections storage areas.  The furnace for heating the storage area draws its air from the same location.  We are concerned about the off-gassing of any industrial sealant (like silicone) that would typically be used.  Is there a construction sealant that is safe to use in collections areas?

------------------------------
Morgan Marks
Director
Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
Cheyenne WY
------------------------------