Quote:
Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin
... I've seen "American" made military inner tubes stored in unsealed boxes like the ones you have for over 20 years with no problems with folding or being exposed to the atmosphere.
Have no doubt they could have endured ozone, artillery & rifle gunsmoke, concentrated corn fed European cow pee, severe freeze/thaw cycles, concentrated poisonous mustard gas, plus whatever else one could find on a military battle field. ...
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I too have no doubt about rubber surviving open storage AWAY FROM ELECTRICAL MOTORS OR OTHER SPARKING OR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AIR, cow pee, and freeze/thaw cycles--the latter is only an issue for aqueous systems. Ozone, however, WILL eat rubber, no matter where or by whom it was made. The natural sources of ozone in our part of the atmosphere are UV light and lightening storms. Its half-life is only about 1/2 hour so the natural concentration is extremely low, as it converts back from O3 to O2.
According to the EPA, atmospheric ozone "
is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC."
My college room mate who grew up in Claremont told me they had to buy new windshield wipers every time it rained because the rubber decomposed in between rainfalls. In addition to eating rubber, ozone is REALLY hard on living tissues, which, of course, is why the EPA is so motivated to limit NOx and VOC (like dribbly gasoline fillers). Don't know if that qualifies as part of the idiotic government intervention you mention, but I'm all for it!
Steve