Disinfection and consolidation by irradiation of wooden samples from three Romanianchurches
Mihalis Cutrubinis
1
, Khôi Tran
2
, Eugen Bratu
1
, Loic Caillat
2
, Daniel Negut
1
and Gheorghe Niculescu
3
1
IRASM Irradiation Technology Center, “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Magurele-Bucharest, Romania
2
Regional Conservation Workshop - Nucléart, Atomic Energy Commission, Grenoble, France
3
National Institute of Research for Conservation and Restoration of National Movable Cultural Heritage, Bucharest, Romania
Abstract
Studies on application of ionizing radiation for disinfection and consolidation have revealed that wood objects,lacquer, textiles, paper, objects made of stone and gypsum can be considered for conservation purposes. In thiswork, first were assessed the biodeterioration factors (insects and moulds) and their effects, and properties of wooden samples from three Romanian churches. After treatment, the properties of the impregnated samples wereassessed in order to prove that the gamma irradiation process brings a real improvement in wood condition, interms of disinfection and structure consolidation. As conclusion, the irradiation treatment is considered proper tobe applied to different wooden cultural heritage objects only for their disinfection or both for their disinfectionand consolidation.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Disinfection and conservation of archaeological artifacts and art objects by radiation treatment(gamma rays or electron beam) appears to have perspective. Studies on application of ionizingradiation for consolidation have revealed that wood objects, lacquer, textiles, paper, objects made of stone and gypsum can be considered for conservation purposes. Radiation treatment of cellulosematerials for disinfection is well known and proven. Additional extensive research is needed todevelop treatment methods to lower the radiation dose (1).The susceptibility to the microbial attack of wood is depending on its moisture content. Microbialdeterioration, operated mainly by moulds, can start when the water content is above 20%. These candevelop on surface or within internal structures inducing, through the production of exoenzymes,change in cell integrity. The role of bacteria and actinomycetes in deterioration of wood is lessimportant because they require higher water content. They have been found mainly in outdoor andmarine environments.Insects, however, are the most serious source of damage for wooden objects kept in museums, inindoor or outdoor environments. They use wood as a nutrient source, for shelter and egg deposit. Infeeding, some insects utilize only the compounds obtained from the cell contents (sugars and starch)while others utilize even the cellulose.Waterlogged wood
is the term used to describe wood kept under wet soil or water, for examplearchaeological wood such as shipwrecks or pile-dwellings. Under these particular conditions (highwater content and lowered oxygen pressure), wood can easily be attacked by microaerophilic andanaerobic heterotrophic microorganisms and, in sea sites, by some marine organisms (2).Gamma rays, a form of electromagnetic radiation, are extensively used for sterilizing micro flora andkilling insects, especially on organic materials. A dose of at least 500 Gy is required to kill larvae andto prevent the emergence of adult insects. Moulds are less sensitive to ionizing radiation than insects,and different strains show different levels of sensitivity. Generally most fungi are killed by a total doseof 10 kGy (3). Despite its power, gamma irradiation does not induce any secondary radioactivity andpenetrates completely into the objects. Moreover, a large quantity of materials can be treated at onetime.Gamma rays have also been employed for the polymerization of resins used to consolidate decayedwooden objects by impregnation. For the complete polymerization of the resin, the requested dose isabout 20-30 kGy. Radiation polymerization has a great advantage over conventional polymerizationby chemical catalysts as the heat rise can be perfectly controlled by varying the radiation dose rate.
The other advantage of radiation polymerization is that the excess resin from an impregnation can bereused, due to the absence of chemical catalysts in the resin storage. The disadvantage of thisconsolidation treatment in comparison to other consolidation methods of cultural heritage objects isthat the process is not reversible. However, it can save from destruction artifacts which present a veryhigh degree of deterioration (4).
2.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples.
There were studied wooden samples from three Romanian churches:A. piece from wooden ceiling of an evangelical church in Sibiu county,B. piece of sycamore maple from resistance structure of an orthodox wooden church,C. piece of fir from resistance structure of an orthodox wooden church in Dretea, Cluj county, whichwas build in 1690, painted in 1770 and now is rebuild at “Astra” Traditional Civilization Museum inSibiu.
Treatment.
The consolidation of the studied samples was carried out using a standard resin of styrene-unsaturated polyester type tetrahydrophtalic. The samples were treated at the irradiation facility of Regional Conservation Workshop Nucléart (ARC-Nucléart), using a gamma source of Co-60. Theirradiation was done at room temperature in open air. The delivered mean irradiation dose was about24 kGy, enough to disinfect the samples from insects and moulds, and consolidate them throughpolymerization of the resin. The irradiation dose rate was set up as to not exceed a polymerizationtemperature of 50-60 °C. After treatment, different properties of the impregnated samples wereassessed in order to prove that the gamma irradiation process brings a real improvement in woodcondition, in terms of disinfection and structure consolidation.
Characterization and testing.
First were assessed the biodeterioration factors (insects and moulds) andtheir effects. Using a photo camera and a stereomicroscope, were taken pictures before and aftertreatment and assessed the biodeterioration factors (insects and moulds) and their effects on woodensamples. Samples were also weighed before and after consolidation treatment.A HunterLab Miniscan XE Plus portable spectrophotometer has been used for colour measurements.The geometry of measurement is d/8° with a view area of 6 mm in diameter, specular component isincluded, combination illuminant - standard observer is D
65
/10°. All values are reported in CIELABand CIELCh colour spaces. Every value is obtained averaging 30 measurements.Mechanical testing has been carried out using Zwick / Roell equipments. For dynamical test (impacttest) has been used a Zwick / Roell Pendulum model 5113. The test parameters were: pendulum of 25J, Charpy impact test, distance between sample holders 35 mm, impact speed 3.85 m/s and angle of pendulum launching 160°. Through Charpy impact test has been measured the impact energy E (J).For statically tests (penetration and bending) it has been used a Zwick / Roell Universal TestingDevice model Z005. The penetration test has measured the force F (N) necessary to push 1 mm in thesample a metallic ball of 6 mm diameter. The bending test has measured the bending tensile strength
σ
(MPa) necessary to bend 2 mm a sample. The distance between sample holders was 60 mm.For electron spin resonance (ESR) testing was used a Magnettech Miniscan MS200 X bandspectrometer. The measurement parameters were: Microwave radiation – 9,3-9,6 GHz, Power – 0.8mW, Centre field – 335 mT, Sweep width – 15 mT, Modulation amplitude – 0.5 mT, Sweep time – 60s, Steps – 4096, Pass number – 5, Temperature – room temperature. Gain varied according to thesignal intensity of the measured sample. A single signal (g
symm
=2,004) is observed in the ESR spectraof all samples containing cellulose, including unirradiated samples. In the case of irradiated samples,the intensity of this signal is usually much greater. The intensity of signal is proportional with thequantity of cellulose free radicals present in the sample.
3.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
At examination of samples with a stereomicroscope there were established the biodeterioration factorstaking relevant pictures of samples. After impregnation treatment there were taken pictures of treatedsamples in order to evaluate the consolidation treatment. In Figure 1 there are presented differentpictures taken from samples before and after consolidation treatment.
Figure 1. Pictures of samples for biodeterioration assessment and consolidation evaluation
The samples have been weighed before and after consolidation treatment. Table 1 shows their masses.It can be seen from the table that sample A increased its weight more than 3 times, samples B almostdoubled their mass and samples C had more than double mass.
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