Radiation application in cultural heritage conservation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESCultural heritage (CH) is the legacy of attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations and maintained for the benefit of future generations. It includes ‘tangible’ (such as ancient buildings, works of art based on paper, textiles or wood, carpets and rugs) and intangible (such as the customs of a region) works. Studying and keeping art objects and other cultural heritage artefacts available, in the best possible condition, for future generations is a significant challenge. CH in improper conservation conditions is susceptible to biological attacks by insects, fungi and bacteria, which are accompanied by holes, discoloration, exfoliation and decay in the works.MATERIALS AND METHODSOne of the disinfection methods in recent years is irradiation with ionizing gamma rays and electron beams. Irradiation due to direct and indirect effects causes inactivation and destruction of microorganisms. Research in this field requires a multidisciplinary approach and taking into account ethical principles in the protection of CH. A research includes investigating the radiation resistance of dominant microorganisms, determining the required dose of disinfection, investigating the effect of radiation on the functional properties of the underlying materials of CH, and simulating the dose uniformity in CH during the radiation processing at the irradiation facility. Ionizing rays are highly penetrative, applicable at room temperature and eco-friendly.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Brevibacillus and Burkhorderia spp. are some of the isolated microorganisms from ancient contaminated papers, paintings and textiles. In order to determine the required radiation dose for disinfecting CH, it is necessary to investigate the radiation sensitivity of the dominant isolates on the substrate. In this case, the minimum dose required to destroy insects is ۰.۵ to ۲, fungi ۵ to ۷, and bacteria ۸ to ۱۰ kGy. The effect of radiation on the physical and chemical properties of CH is investigated separately.CONCLUSIONConsidering the age, geographical area, diversity of inorganic and organic components used in CH, dominant microbial contamination and the type of irradiation source each work has unique characteristics which provides a new research field of study for those who are interested in.

کلیدواژه ها:

radiation processing ، cultural heritage ، disinfection