Category:Plastics

Introduction[edit | edit source]

This table serves as a living document and tracking tool for the continued generation of content for polymers that may be considered for use by museums for collection storage, display, and transportation. The original table was compiled and presented at the American Institute for Conservation’s Annual Meeting in 2020 during the Collections Care Network session.

Contributors[edit | edit source]

The table design and original information compilation was completed by Molly McGath, Catherine H. Stephens, Gina Watkinson, Kate Wight Tyler, Paige Schmidt and Rachael Perkins Arenstein

How to Use This Table[edit | edit source]

This table currently acts as a landing page, or directory, for polymer classes found within materials used for display, storage, and transportation of cultural heritage materials. This table lists polymer classes (including, but not limited to, plastics) and identifies each polymer’s most commonly encountered physical forms and applications in this context. Specific products (and their brands) that are primarily or significantly composed of these polymer classes are also listed.

This table does not make recommendations for or against the use of the polymers or products listed. Instead, this table serves as a centralized list of known polymers (historically or presently used in proximity to collections) that will direct the reader to up-to-date information regarding each polymer, so that an informed decision can be made about its use in a particular application.

As research and analysis regarding polymers continue to be performed and published, this table aims to serve as a centralized directory for this information, and can be used as a tool by the field at large to identify gaps in our collective knowledge, and highlight areas where further research or the compilation of said research is needed. At present, each polymer links to a CAMEO entry, which will provide a more thorough list of references and summaries of each polymer. It is the aim of the Collections Care Network and Materials Working Group to generate content within each polymer Wiki entry regarding Personal, Environmental, and Collections risks, which will be drawn from recent publications and literature reviews.

• If the field for each polymer regarding Personal, Environmental, and Collections risks contains the text Present, this indicates that content has been generated within the Wiki entry for this risk category, but does not indicate that a risk exists.
• If the field for each polymer regarding Personal, Environmental, and Collections risks contains the text Needed, this indicates that this Wiki entry still needs information regarding this risk category.
• If you wish to contribute or update any information for a given polymer, or if you would like to add a polymer or product, please contact Paige Schmidt using AIC Plastics wiki in the subject line.

Polymer Assessment Tools for Exhibition, Storage, and Transport[edit | edit source]

The primary goal of this table is to aid in the decision-making process for selecting materials for use in the display, storage, and transportation of cultural heritage materials. This table aims to consolidate references and guide users to the most relevant and up-to-date research, but does not aim to make recommendations for particular polymers or products. When considering if a polymer-based product is appropriate for your intended use, consider the following while exploring the information in this directory:

• Base polymer’s mechanical and chemical properties (including degradation mechanisms and products)
• ALL components of a product’s design (e.g. gaskets, adhesives)
• Intentional additives (including coatings)
• Unintentional additives from the manufacturing process
• Date of manufacture (is this still the same product formulation you relied on 10 years ago?)

For more information on product selection and methods for analysis, please see the panel discussion, When the Rubber Hits the Road: Considerations for Plastics as Storage Materials and Some Tools to Drive the Conversation Forward, presented at the AIC 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. In the presentation some general recommendations were made. Please refer to the presentation and the table below, as well as the full entries on CAMEO for more detail.

Polymer Table[edit | edit source]

Click on the arrows within the table header to sort the column alphabetically. Use CTRL+F to search within the table

References[edit | edit source]

Preservation of Plastic Artefacts (PoPART) in Museum Collections Project website

Coughlin, M., 2019. Plastics. In Preventive Conservation: Collections Storage. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Smithsonian Institution, The George Washington University Museum Studies Program.

Chalifoux Zephir, M. 2010. Care and Identification of Objects Made from Plastic. In Conserve O Gram 8/4. Washington, DC: National Park Service.

Costello, Susan, 2020. Preserving Plastics in the Collection at the Harvard Art Museums, American Institute for Conservation Annual Meeting 2020, May 28.

Down, Jane L., 2015. Adhesive Compendium for Conservation. Canadian Conservation Institute.

Elkin, Lisa, and Christopher Norris. 2019. Preventive Conservation: Collections Storage. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Smithsonian Institution, The George Washington University Museum Studies Program.

Keneghan, B., and L. Egan, eds. 2007. Plastics—Looking at the Future and Learning from the Past. London: Archetype Books.

Odegaard, Nancy, Scott Carroll, and Werner S. Zimmt, 2007. Material Characterization Tests for Objects of Art, 2nd edition, Archetype Books.

Pasiuk, Janet, 2004. Safe Plastics & Fabrics for Exhibits & Storage. In Conserve O Gram 18/2. Washington, DC: National Park Service.

Shashoua, Y. 2008. Conservation of Plastics: Materials Science, Degradation and Preservation. Oxford, UK:Elsevier Ltd.

van Aubel, Carien; van Rooijen, Olivia. 2020. Plastics You Know: The Plastics Identification Tool and Collection Surveys, American Institute for Conservation Annual Meeting 2020, May 28.

Williams, R. Scott, 2019. Plastic Storage Products. In Preventive Conservation: Collections Storage. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Smithsonian Institution, The George Washington University Museum Studies Program.

Williams, R. Scott, 2002. “Care of Plastics: Malignant Plastics.” WAAC Newsletter 24 (1): 1–14.