Baseball Hall of Fame Says "No" to Slabs.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

All the HOF says is that the long term effects are unknown and have the potential to be problematic. So they will err in side of caution and say no.

Risk benefit calculation by them. Exactly what medical device companies and others do with plastics and composite products every day.

If there was hard science proving this PSA would be out of business tomorrow.

A very different statement than someone telling me on the board that in 10 years my check (which I don’t even have) will begin degrading.

That check began degrading when the paper was made, before it even became a check. What Archival storage to high standards does is delay the inevitable as long as possible. In the best cases, as long as possible means a very long time.
Even without stuff like Mylar some things can last a long time, it's just less likely. Like King Tuts stuff, mostly preserved in good condition for thousands of years. Assuming the check was high rag content paper and not particularly acidic it's something you probably won't have to worry about.

It's also true that some things even stored up to standards - like many books from the 1890s-1920's- degrade to the point of being unsaveable in a fairly short time. Once the wood fibers in the paper begin creating acid it's just a matter of time.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by steve B

That check began degrading when the paper was made, before it even became a check. What Archival storage to high standards does is delay the inevitable as long as possible. In the best cases, as long as possible means a very long time.
Even without stuff like Mylar some things can last a long time, it's just less likely. Like King Tuts stuff, mostly preserved in good condition for thousands of years. Assuming the check was high rag content paper and not particularly acidic it's something you probably won't have to worry about.

It's also true that some things even stored up to standards - like many books from the 1890s-1920's- degrade to the point of being unsaveable in a fairly short time. Once the wood fibers in the paper begin creating acid it's just a matter of time.

True.
Ancient Egyptian material has lasted because it was stored at very low humidity, and in total darkness. It was also not in contact with other objects that could cause them to deteriorate.
Old books deteriorate because of the acid in wood pulp paper. (Rag paper has far, far, less acid, and some none at all.) In order to preserve those books, they must be deacidified.
Mylar keeps its contents safe from environmental hazards, and contact with dangerous things--like acidic wood pulp paper. It is also stable--chemicals do not leach out of mylar, as they do with other plastics.
What is worrisome about slabs is that they are not made of long-term stable plastic.