6.1 The environmental chamber method is an accelerated test for determining the resistance of Wet Blue and Wet White to the growth of fungi, the causal agent of mold. See Test Method D3273.3^,4

6.2 The environmental chamber method is useful in estimating the performance of fungicides and should assist in the prediction of storage time before fungal growth begins.

6.3 The environmental chamber method duplicates the natural environment in which Wet Blue or Wet White is inoculated with fungal spores and subsequently disfigured or discolored by fungi.

6.4 The environmental chamber method measures the resistance of the treated Wet Blue or Wet White to the germination of spores and subsequent vegetative growth that spreads over the surface of a comparatively large Wet Blue or Wet White specimen over a period of four weeks.

6.5 The environmental chamber can be kept inoculated with fungi representative of those found in tanneries by adding samples of Wet Blue and Wet White with fungal growth from currently operating tanneries.

6.6 Control specimens of Wet Blue and Wet White without fungicide treatment can be added to the chamber periodically to increase levels of fungal growth in the chamber.

6.7 Leaching of fungicide from the test specimen into the agar often causes a zone of inhibition of fungal growth in the Petri dish test, but in the environmental chamber any leaching of fungicide from the test specimen drips into the water contained in the chamber and thus does not cause the types of false readings observed in the Petri dish test.