Dear Patti,Is there concern about the use of ductless fume hoods--is there a schedule in place to change out their filters?
In response to your recent query to the list about "experience treating mold on archives and bound materials in house," we are in the process of setting up a room at the HRC that will be dedicated to cleaning mold-contaminated collection materials. It is scheduled to be operational by the end of the summer at which time I will have more details. Our conservation and administrative staff has just begun working with the University Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) and HVAC engineers and this outside input has been enormously helpful.
The mold remediation room will be equipped with an, as yet undetermined, air ventilation and filtration system. The system should contain the mold and remove particulates from the room air. The addition of localized equipment in the workroom has also allayed EHS concerns that operation of the fume hood could heat up the workspace making it uncomfortable or worse for staff.
(Originally it was thought that use of a fume hood would be sufficient to contain the mold during cleaning; but because oversize works of art as well as paper documents and books will be cleaned in this room, the additional air filtration system was found to be necessary. We had also planned on installing a germicidal UV fixture in the room, as they do in the university mycology labs, to reduce the level of viable mold spores. By adding the air filtration system to reduce the levels of mold in the room, EHS felt that germicidal UV lamps were not needed. [EHS had expressed concern about the use of UV lamps due to recent eye damage to several university staff caused by UV exposure.])
The walls of the mold remediation room will be painted with a washable gloss paint to facilitate cleaning. The paint will be mixed with Intercept? a mold inhibitor.
We will remove mold from collection materials in a ductless fume hood, unless the item is too large to fit into the hood. Depending on their physical condition, we will clean documents by aspirating with a HEPA vac using micro tools. When cleaning books, a magnetic wiping fabric, such as the Dust Bunny*?,* or a soot sponge is used after aspiration.
While cleaning, staff will wear personal protective gear including Tyvek? coveralls and hats, booties, goggles, nitrile gloves and respiratory protection- either an N95 mask or a respirator.
Conservation staff generally cleans contaminated materials. Unfortunately at this time, we have a large quantity of moldy materials, so, fortunately, we will be hiring additional staff to work on a couple of remediation projects.
Following the cleaning of the mold contaminated materials, our institution will have to work out an approach to the storage and access of these materials. There has not been research in our field as to the effectiveness of our methods of cleaning mold contaminated materials, although, currently, it is assumed that mold cannot be completely removed from the porous structure of paper and book cloth. We also do not know how long mycotoxins, antigens, or other irritants found in mold metabolic parts remain viable and could, therefore, cause health problems.
There is more information about how various institutions treat mold-contaminated materials in the recently posted responses to the "Survey on Acquisition, Treatment, Access, and Storage of Moldy Materials". The survey was posted on PADG [2319] and Cons DistList (17:59) in March 2004. Responses can be found at_ http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/primanis/mold_survey_summary_2004-10.html
_I am sure that many of the commercial restoration vendors have dealt with moldy materials. I have had several discussions with Kirk Lively, Director of the Technical Services Division, at Belfor in Fort Worth and found him to be knowledgeable about the general topic of mold contamination of library and archive materials as well as its removal.
Of the many information resources available, I have learned a great deal about mold and its remediation from the following texts:
-"Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections" by Sherry Guild and Maureen MacDonald (CCI 2004) gives excellent info on cleaning mold contaminated materials.
-"Fungal Facts" by Mary Lou Florian (Archetype Books, 2003)
-"Bio Aerosols Assessment and Control" (ACGIH 1999)
Good luck, Olivia
Hello,
I would very much like to talk to people who have experience treating mold on archives and bound materials in house, and those who contract work on moldy materials to outside vendors.
In particular, I am interested to learn more about your in-house facilities (where you treat materials in your building, what equipment you use); the type of staff who carry out the procedures; and the general the techniques you use to treat mold.
If you have experience sending materials out for treatment, I would be especially interested to hear about your experiences. I would like to learn where people send their materials, the amount of material they send, and general costs for treatments.
Any information is welcomed,
Patti Gibbons
Patti Gibbons Preservation Manager Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, IL 60637 t (773) 702-6027, f (773) 702-3728 pgibbons@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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-- Julia Merkel Preservation Specialist/Special Collections James Madison University Libraries MSC 1704 Harrisonburg, VA 22807 540-568-7040