Wood from the London Clay and Pyrite 'disease'

[Pleuromya]

Hello,

I've recently collected some fossil wood from the London Clay. However, I have heard that it is prone to pyrite 'disease'. I've cleaned the wood with water, and plan to keep them with packets of silica gel to reduce humidity. Will this be enough to prevent pyrite oxidation occuring? I've just attached some photos of some of the wood that it can be seen on. There is also this white-coloured material on this bone. Is that anything to be concerned about?

Many thanks

Edited July 15, 2022 by Pleuromya

[Ptychodus04]

Pyrite disease has been a topic of much discussion on the forum. There are several routes to take in order to slow it down but it is kind of like a MRSA infection, treatable but hard to eliminate completely.

 

Storing in desiccant should keep it at bay as moisture is the fuel for the decay. Typically, closed storage is bad for unstable pyrite but the desiccant should mitigate those issues. You want your container to be as full of beads as possible to minimize the room for humid air.

 

[Pleuromya]

5 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Pyrite disease has been a topic of much discussion on the forum. There are several routes to take in order to slow it down but it is kind of like a MRSA infection, treatable but hard to eliminate completely.

 

Storing in desiccant should keep it at bay as moisture is the fuel for the decay. Typically, closed storage is bad for unstable pyrite but the desiccant should mitigate those issues. You want your container to be as full of beads as possible to minimize the room for humid air.

 

Thank you. I ordered some dessicant earlier. Do you think it would be best to keep the wood away from my other fossils to avoid it encouraging pyrite disease in them, or is this not a major issue?

 

[Ptychodus04]

11 hours ago, Pleuromya said:

Thank you. I ordered some dessicant earlier. Do you think it would be best to keep the wood away from my other fossils to avoid it encouraging pyrite disease in them, or is this not a major issue?

 

That shouldn’t be an issue. I’d keep other fossils out of the same container since the byproduct of pyrite disease is sulfuric acid. If it does degrade, the acid will damage anything in the container.

[Pleuromya]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

That shouldn’t be an issue. I’d keep other fossils out of the same container since the byproduct of pyrite disease is sulfuric acid. If it does degrade, the acid will damage anything in the container.

Thanks. I'll just keep the wood in containers then, which I should be able to get soon.