Materials Research

NCPTT’s Materials Research Program focuses on understanding how cultural objects deteriorate with time and developing new methods to preserve these objects. NCPTT partners with parks, laboratories, universities and government agencies to accomplish these tasks.

Headstone Cleaning Study

Jason Church initiated the second phase of a joint study with the National Cemetery Administration in November 2006. The project goal is to test cleaning products for effectiveness and appropriateness and to make recommendations of products and methods best suited to both clean and preserve federally-issued headstones. Church’s work began with a visit to Bath National Cemetery in Bath, N.Y. and Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis from Nov. 5 - 10. The second trip to San Francisco National Cemetery and Santa Fe National Cemetery was completed from Dec. 4 - 8. He monitored biological re-growth and recorded color on previously cleaned headstone test patches. He also cleaned whole headstones in each of the five cemeteries using the three best performers to date. A detailed progress report was submitted to the National Cemetery Adminstration on March 16.

NCPTT/NSU Joint Faculty Position

Dr. Tye Botting, who served at NCPTT since January 2004 in the NCPTT/NSU Joint Faculty position, tenured his resignation effective Jan. 12. Dr. Botting took a position with the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Va. Botting was instrumental in upgrading and maintaining the NCPTT Environmental Exposure chamber. He was the lead investigator on the effects of air pollution on treated stone. He completed research on the vitrification of terrazzo floors as a possible treatment for historic floors and has contributed to numerous research projects at the National Center. NCPTT is currently advertising for a Ph.D. chemist to fill the two-year joint faculty position with renewal options. The incumbent will teach half time at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana on general, organic or analytical chemistry and will perform half-time research on pollution deposition to treated stone at NCPTT.

Cenotaphs Preservation at Congressional Cemetery

On Feb. 1, NCPTT offered technical advice to the Historic Preservation Training Center about the cleaning and repair of 165 cenotaphs located in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The work, which is funded by the National Cemetery Administration, began in October and is expected to continue into FY 2008. Mary Striegel and Church completed a consultation report that details:

• NCPTT review of cleaning tests undertaken by HPTC,
• Recommendations for short-term testing relevant to the evaluation of cleaning efforts on the cenotaphs,
• Preliminary treatment recommendations for the Macomb and Arsenal marble monuments, and
• Proposed scope of work for further involvement by NCPTT in the project.

NCPTT Intern Studies

Ifrah Jamil has been working to characterize surface scale on granite headstones and reproduce the effects in the laboratory. She is preparing granite samples for exposure to artificial aging using hard water in order to repoduce and confirm conditions required to create the surface scale. Next, Jason Church and Ifrah will look at possible remediation treatments. Jamil will be completing her undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology in May and plans to enter medical school next fall.

Intern Stace Miller has developed an experimental design to compare the use of laser cleaning with an innovative new technology of liquid nitrogen cleaning for removal of graffiti from marble. Miller is using NCPTT’s new laser research facility to clean and evaluate marble samples stained with different forms of graffiti commonly used to deface cultural resources. In addition, she is working with NitroCision, L.L.C., which has licensed a liquid nitrogen cleaning technology called Nitrojet. The manufacturer claims the technology can be used to clean interior and exterior surfaces in buildings and monuments. Further, they claim pressure and standoff can be regulated and controlled to effectively clean both delicate and hard surfaces and materials.

Miller has prepared a series of Colorado Yule marble samples that are approximately 4 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. These samples were marked with a star shape using one of three graffiti materials – permanent marker, spray paints, and an oil-based paint. She has documented current conditions of the samples by photography, microscopy, colorimetry, and laser profilometry prior to cleaning tests. She will test cleaning parameters at the NCPTT/NSU laser facility while NitroCision will optimize cleaning conditions using the Nitrojet, clean the test samples, then return them to NCPTT for further analysis and evaluation. Miller is pursuing her chemistry, math, and spanish undergraduate degrees though spring 2008. She hopes to enter pharmacy school upon graduation.

Training

Cemetery Preservation Video

In December, Jason Church worked with videographer David Beier to film two five-minute video clips on cemetery preservation. The first segment demonstrates important techniques for cleaning marble headstones. The second segment focuses on steps for resetting simple headstones. The clips are on the NCPTT website as podcasts and downloadable video.

Cemetery Monument Care TELNPS Course

NCPTT premiered its first TELNPS course on January 30. "Essentials in Cemetery Monument Care" included 104 confirmed participants from more than 50 NPS units. All course materials, including slides and a participants guide, are on the NPS Training web site. Several of the units invited outside guests to participate in the distance learning course. For example, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Site hosted 10 members of the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance at their TEL site. Participants responded positively to the course through phone and e-mail correspondence. In a follow-up evaluation, some participants indicated it was best TELNPS course they had ever taken. Other participants found the video clips demonstrating appropriate cleaning and resetting techniques were particularly effective. DVDs of the course will be available from NCPTT.

Consultation

Shreveport Oakland Cemetery

Mary Striegel, Jason Church, and Sarah Jackson (A&E) met with Tim Wachtel, a planner with the Shreveport Public Assembly & Recreation Department, to discuss the conditions of and treatment for historic concrete retaining walls at Oakland Cemetery. The cemetery, located in downtown Shreveport across from the Municipal Auditorium, was officially opened in 1847. At least 16 mayors are buried here as well as some 1,000 Confederate veterans & soldiers. Fence and walls were erected in 1905. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and received a Save America’s Treasures grant in 2002.

Meetings

Mary Striegel represented NPS at the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) board meeting in Washington D.C. on Nov. 2-4.

Publications

Jackson, Sarah M.; and Striegel, Mary F. "Durability of Traditional and Modified Limewashes". APT Bulletin. In Press.