Where better to discuss stone conservation than in the hallowed stone halls at the University of Oxford, England which exhibit centuries of stone weathering and preservation?
In April, Dr. ElizaBeth Bede, the DuPont Materials Research Fellow at NCPTT, traveled to Oxford to co-present a paper on NCPTT’s research on stone conservation treatments. Bede co-presented with Kathryn Hallett at Stone Weathering and Atmospheric Pollution Network (SWAPNet) 2002.
The paper entitled “Effects of Fluorinated Organic Resin Treatments on Gaseous Pollutant Deposition” reported the results of the first phase of a large joint research project between NCPTT and the DuPont Corporation.
This phase of the project measured pollutant uptake rates on untreated stone and stone treated with resins currently under development by Dupont. The results indicated that the treatments decreased pollutant deposition on the limestone and was independent of the concentration of the treatment.
“Developing new treatments with pollutant deterrent capabilities is an exciting development in our field and the paper was exceptionally well-received,” Bede said.
Kathryn Hallett has recently completed her Master of Arts degree in Conservation Science at the Royal College of Art in London. The work presented was undertaken by Hallett as an NCPTT intern during the summer of 2001. Other authors of the paper are Dr. Mary Striegel of NCPTT and Dr. Robert Swingle and Fred Best, both of DuPont Corporation.
SWAPNet is an informal association of academics, conservators, geologists, and scientists, who share a common interest in studying the process of stone weathering and the application of scientific methods and technologies towards preserving stone structures.
This year’s participants hailed from such institutions as the Budapest Technical University in Hungary to the Office for the Investigation of Preservation of Historic Buildings in Austria and from the Essex and Centre for Developing Area Studies in Montreal, Canada, to the Institute of Geochemistry in Prague, Czech Republic.