engleski

Radiation treatment of book covers made from leather

The use of radiation treatment for preservation of cultural heritage has been growing in recent years. Its many advantages compared to classical treatment have attracted attention in many countries. Although the interest in this treatment has grown often conservators and restorers are sceptic towards the effect radiation has on the materials the object is made from. In many cases the object is made of multiple materials and these materials are mostly treated with different coatings or varnishes either to protect the object or to enhance its appearance. The wider use of this technique necessitates a multidisciplinary approach for effectively demonstrating that irradiation does not lead to unacceptable changes in the functional or decorative properties of the artefact as well does not compromise with the authenticity of the artefact. Leather is a common material used on cultural heritage, like books, furniture or clothing. The process for preparing leather is complex itself, and the restorers make the situation even more complicated when they additionally treat leather with preservatives. All these processes can have an impact when it comes to degradation by irradiation. In this work the impact irradiation and its conditions have on goatskin used for bookbinding was investigated. Pure goatskin, as well as goatskin treated by two different preservatives commonly used by book restorers was irradiated with different doses and dose rates. The samples were investigated by colorimetry and FTIR and their pH was monitored in the process. The results have shown that the type of preservative used does play a role when it comes to observing changes in irradiated goatskin, but the observable changes were noticed only at doses greater than the doses that are used for treating cultural heritage.

ionizing radiation ; cultural heritage ; radiation technology

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