Page 27 - PR 2014 2016 03 Applications of Ionizing Radiations

Applications of Ionizing Radiations | Progress Report 69

PHOTO: L. POTTERTON/IAEA

Figure 43. Many CH objects from the
Afro Brazil Museum in São Paulo,
Brazil, have been treated with gamma
irradiation at the Nuclear and Energy
Research Institute (IPEN).

Preservation of cultural heritage 1996 at IPEN, but only in 2010s decade, relat-
objects and archived materials ed activities were relevant and intensified to

the present day preserving more than 20,000
The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range cultural artefacts.
of weather conditions across a large area and
varied topography, but most of the country is
tropical. High temperature and humidity levels
have been favored the growth of mold and
other fungi in artworks, books and archived PHOTO:P VASQUEZ/IPEN
materials. Another relevant problem found in
the conservation of cultural heritage is related
to xylophagous insects specially termites and
wood-boring beetles. In this sense, disinfec-
tion of cultural heritage (CH) artefacts and
archived materials by gamma radiation has
been successfully researched and applied in
recent years by the Multipurpose Gamma Irra-
diation Facility at CTR/IPEN becoming a leader
to preserve tangible objects in South America.
Basic research of the ionizing radiation effects
Figure 44. Large size objects irradiated at the Multipurpose Gamma
in contaminated paper in Brazil started in Irradiation facility (IPEN)