title: From Distillation to Standardization: A French Perspective on the Shaping of Turpentine Spirit (1909-1976).
abstract: Turpentine is a complex substance of pine resin origin, widely used as a solvent in multiple industries. Attempts to define it, even when elaborated by scientists, have been marked by a whole range of extra-scientific market considerations. While the Pine Institute, a resin chemistry research centre in Bordeaux, succeeded in stabilizing the meaning of the word "turpentine" on the national level in France, its expertise was contested abroad. When the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee 35 tried to establish a new international standard for turpentine, France was accused of protecting its industry by twisting scientific definitions for its own needs. The ISO members clashed over the relationship between trade standards and scientific definitions, at the same time highlighting the epistemological difficulties in constructing both categories.
authors.affiliation: a Université de Bordeaux , France.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krasnodebski