Disinfection in Archives—A Short Review of the Sustainable Approaches and Green Perspectives of Using Radiation for Mass Disinfection

Cristina Cicero, Monia Vadrucci (), Giulia Doni and Enrico Trogu
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Cristina Cicero: Department of Literary, Philosophical and Art History Studies, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Monia Vadrucci: Italian Space Agency (ASI), Via del Politecnico, 00133 Rome, Italy
Giulia Doni: Archivio di Stato di Cagliari, Via Gallura 2, 09125 Cagliari, Italy
Enrico Trogu: Archivio di Stato di Cagliari, Via Gallura 2, 09125 Cagliari, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: The conservation of the immense archival heritage of a country like Italy presents scholars with the enormous challenge of finding techniques and procedures that enable rapid and large-scale interventions, especially in cases of biodeterioration. The volume of material to be preserved and often the inadequacy of the storage conditions constitute crucial factors that promote microbial growth on substrates such as paper, leather, and parchment. These materials serve as primary sources of sustenance for fungi and bacteria which can infect the collections, and so it is frequently necessary to adopt chemical mass-disinfection treatments. These treatments are often expensive, polluting, and hazardous to the assets, the operators, and the environment. The use of ionizing radiation can provide an environmentally sustainable alternative to the traditional mass disinfection treatments of library and archive materials, which currently involve chemical agents (such as ethylene oxide) that impact the environment and human health. The use of such chemicals is increasingly subject to stringent restrictions. In this work, we report and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of physical disinfection methods, focusing on the use of radiation for disinfection treatments and their effects.

Keywords: book disinfection; documents sanitization; biodeterioration; ionizing radiations; sustainable disinfection; decontamination by radiation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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