Research for a substitute gas to ethylene oxide for the decontamination of heritage works
Duration: 2006–2010
CICRP programme steering: Katia Baslé (director), Fabien Fohrer
Partnership(s): CRPAA, University of Bordeaux 3
The use of ethylene oxide is becoming increasingly limited due to its toxicity and the fact that it will be banned for the treatment of contaminated cultural property, without any other method to replace it. C2N2 (ethane dinitrile or cyanogen) is a less toxic gas that might be a viable alternative. The CICRP has thus undertaken a research programme to verify the effectiveness of C2N2 on strains of moulds most frequently encountered on cellulosic material by studying three parameters: gas concentration, relative humidity level and duration of treatment.
