crumbling galena

Hi everyone;
I have a few specimens in my collection which include crystals of galena.Recently i noticed that almost half of my collection ha s been crumbled and wasted.I had kept them in a dry room inside closed boxes.Any advice on how i can save the rest of my collection.thanks

It sounds like you might have some marcasite amongst or under the Galena. If so it may be too late to save the crumbled pieces. Did you notice a sulfur like smell when you opened the boxes? If you have marcasite in the specimen sometimes keeping them in an enclosed box allows moisture to build up and according to one theory there is a bacteria that causes the marcasite to break down. I find it is best to keep marcasite out so it can "breathe" usually the air in a house is somewhat dry because of heating and air conditioning. I have had marcasite I collected that was kept in a box fall apart where as the marcasite I collected at the same time and put in my case is still fine. Marcasite decomposing produces acid so at this point you might want to try neutralize the specimens by soaking diluted solution of baking soda after a good washing to remove any free acid. I would then clean them by soaking them is Simple Green, which is a strong soap, overnight. Make sure you wash them very well after to get all the soap off. It will also brighten up the galena. I actually use a very soft tooth brush to gently scrub the galena but as discussed in a previous discussion, this might produce micro scratches. I does brighten the galena if it hasn't oxidized too far and I haven't had a problem. I think the soap also kills the bacteria. I use this method to clean pyrite and marcasite and I haven't noticed any problems with it afterwards. Another method I use to stabilize marcasite or suspected marcasite is treating it with ammonia thioglycolate which is also suppose to stop the breakdown. I doesn't hurt to try everything sometimes. Good luck

Don offers good advice. I would add that you should not wrap specimens in newspaper. The acid content of the paper accelerates the decomposition of marcasite,

Hi;
I thank you So much for your advice and precious time you spent writing such a lengthy reply,i am truly humbled and grateful.Since i am new to the world of minerals and learning ,i have to look a little more closer to figure out the marcasite inclusion,i hope you forgive my lack of knowledge but it sounds your diagnostics are correct since all crystals of Galena in the form of blocks and without any other minerals are perfectly ok,just the ones that were in the form of (i dont know if i could use this word in this case) conglomerate are the ones crumbling.Anyway i am going to put your greate advice into use and once again i thank you for your help.

You may wish to isolate the offending specimens from the rest of your collection - such as keeping them in another cabinet or box - even after treatment. The idea here is that if the decomposition comes back, it will not spread and "infect" the rest of your collection. If your collection is kept in a cabinet on glass shelves, you can sometimes tell when sufides are starting to give off fumes by a whitish powdery film which forms on the glass under the specimen. This usually occurs long before full decomposition. If this is noticed, then it's time to treat and isolate the specimen.