Preservation masterpiece.

Ozone-depleting methyl bromide was once the fumigant of choice for protecting museum artifacts against insects and mold. But with the chemical's scheduled phase-out in January 2005, an alternative is gaining ground in museums around the world. The new method uses commercially available oxygen absorbers and airtight bags to kill pests by depriving them of oxygen. The technology was first developed by NASA to prevent rusting, and was first used for artifact preservation in the early 1990s in two California museums. Today it is being used in North America, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and Japan. Recently the director of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force Sasebo Historical Museum reported that the museum had preserved more than 3,000 artifacts with the method and that all remain in good condition.