• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.136-146
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• 2023

Biological materials, such as stuffed specimens, can release various acids or volatiles. There has been no research carried out on the emission characteristics of organic compounds generated from the preservatives used in taxidermy specimens or associated manufacturing materials and methods. Therefore, in order to identify the organic compounds generated from taxidermy specimens, a degradation experiment was conducted on specimens for each material and for storage specimens. To produce Ogye chicken specimens, naphthalene and borax were used as preservatives, and planer sawdust, newspaper, and polystyrene foam were used as the core body materials. The deterioration experiment was conducted for 2 weeks in a high-temperature environment(50℃) and a high-humidity environment (95%), with an Ogye chicken specimen (year 2015) kept in an animal storage facility. Results indicated that the concentration of organic compounds generated by the specimen in the high-temperature environment tended to be greater than that in the high-humidity environment. The preservatives benzene, toluene, xylene, and p-dichlorobenzene were detected in the specimens using naphthalene, confirming that naphthalene is a major organic compound release factor, and the specimens that used sawdust, newspaper, and polystyrene foam also exhibited organic compounds. This appears to have been due to degradation of the material. In addition, ammonia was detected in the specimens for each material due to decay. In particular, the specimens using borax at high temperature were subject to approximately 9 times higher rates of ammonia-related deterioration than the specimens using naphthalene. These results can be considered to result from the prevention of biological damage through insecticidal effects by accelerating the sublimation of naphthalene in a high-temperature environment. Naphthalene is a potentially carcinogenic substance, and when used as a preservative, proper use management is required. Taxidermy specimens can release various organic compounds depending on the manufacturing techniques used, so a systematic preservation management plan is required that depends on conditions such as the applicable manufacturing materials and preservatives.