Mass Disinfection of Documents Affected by Microorganisms: One Practical Experience.

This paper presents the results of disinfecting treatment of more than 200,000 documents damaged by microorganisms in connection with moving the documents from depositories to a new building of the National Library of Russia. For disinfection, a preparation Metatin GT made by a Swedish firm ACIMA was applied. Metatin GT meets three basic requirements of the agents intended for document protection: minimum toxicity for people; ability to be kept for a long period of time in paper; and lack of negative influence on paper. An another advantage of Metatin GT is that its biocide effect does not decrease during long-term document storage. The chemical and microbiological analysis of dust from depositories were carried out. The normals of biocide and material consumption and time expenditures were developed. Every week, microbiological samples (400 in total) were taken and tested to prove the effectiveness of disinfection; results indicated 97-99% effectiveness. Statistical estimation of data and accumulated practical experience gave an opportunity to carry out the method of mass document treatment. (Author/MES)