[GreenKeys] Surplus "Aroma"

[Steve Hilsz]

Everybody who has worked around military surplus recognizes the "aroma" that 
emanates from it. I can remember shopping in Abe Kranow's "Standard Surplus" 
store on Market Street in San Francisco and breathing in that wonderful 
"surplus smell." However, I've never been able to find out it's origin. When 
I work aboard old navy vessels in Brownsville, Texas, the same aroma 
permeates everything (including me, at day's end).

So, is it originating from a specific hydrocarbon source? Has anybody 
figured out the source? Is it from Moisture & Fungus-Proofing compounds?

Steve Hilsz