The problem of formaldehyde in museum collections

The release of formaldehyde from plywood, particleboard, coatings, and insulating matérials containing formaldehyde-based resins is referred to by the mobile home and foam insulation industries as ‘the odor problem’, but it is a suspected carcinogen.¹ These formaldehyde-containing materials are widely used in the construction of new museums and redesigned exhibition and storage areas; but only recently has formaldehyde begun to be identified as a danger to museum collections. It is widely known that formic and acetic acids, which can be released by wood products, may cause serious damage to lead-containing alloys and other metals, stone, ceramics, shell specimens, and organic materials.² Some of this corrosion, which usually is in the form of a white crystalline growth, may be attributable to formaldehyde, as discussed below. The authors conducted a survey of conservation, industrial, and environmental literature to determine the potential for and the nature and extent of damage caused by the presence of formaldehyde in museum construction materials. Although industrial literature contains much information on the use of formaldehyde and formic acid for alteration of the properties of both organic and inorganic materials, there is little information in the conservation literature about the potential for similar alteration of art materials. This research outlines the potential and actual effects of formaldehyde on works of art, and suggests some methods of avoiding these effects.