[en] The cellulose, which is the main component of the paper additionally with proteins present in book bindings is the environment very prone to attack of the harmful microorganisms. The investigation of the atmospheric air in libraries revealed the presence of broad spectrum of fungi and bacteria. Records show that large volumes of books and archival collections may be affected by bioburden because of improper storage conditions or accidents such as floods. The harmful influence of microorganisms on paper-based historical objects leads to their degradation and real loss for the culture. Moreover, microorganisms present in books or archives may influence the human health negatively. Thus, effective disinfection methods of paper-based objects are still being developed in order to propose effective, fast and low-cost method that can be applied on the mass scale in emergency situations as well as for the preventive treatment. Currently the most common method used for decontamination of library and archival collections is ethylene oxide treatment, which is toxic to humans and the natural environment. The promising alternative for this technique can be ionizing radiation. Electron beam (EB) irradiation can be effectively applied for decontamination of biodeteriorated archives as well as for preventive conservation of large volumes of books in short time [6]. Moreover, due to the high dose rate of EB irradiation, appropriate dose is delivered to the treated objects in several seconds therefore post-oxidation related effects of paper degradation are significantly limited.

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[en] Currently, for food irradiation highly penetration ionizing radiation sources are used. A new approach to irradiation processing of food and agricultural products is related to the limited penetration of low energy electrons (LEEB), which can effectively reduce the number of microorganisms in food products. The advantage of such a solution is that low energy electrons do not penetrate the whole volume of food products thus interacting less with food components. However, to ensure that microorganisms are effectively inactivated in food products it is necessary to determine all parameters which may influence the effectiveness of LEEB microbial decontamination process. Due to the limited penetration of electrons in treated material, it is important to define which food categories can be treated with the low energy electron beam. In the presented study the work focused on the determination of the thickness of the layer which electrons can penetrate in different types of food products depending on the energy of electrons. Since microorganisms may inhabit different thicknesses of food, for the high LEEB process effectiveness it is important to select process paraments that ensure that the whole sub-surface layer inhabited by microorganisms is reachable by the electrons.

[en] New approaches for the radiation processing of food and agricultural products use the limited penetration of electrons of energy below 300 keV. The aim of the project was to examine the effectiveness of low energy electron beam (LEEB) irradiation to eliminate microbial contamination from the surfaces of food products. The energies of electrons used in our experiments allowed the beam to penetrate to a depth no greater than 400 µm in the food products that we studied. For tested samples the LEEB effectively eliminated microbial contamination, and the decrease in number of microorganisms depended on the energy of electron beam, the absorbed dose on the surface and the microbial species naturally inhabiting tested samples. This study involved some collaboration with the Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Ibaraki, Japan. (author)

[en] This work investigated the effects induced in natural lignocellulosic material caused by irradiation with electron beam. The thermal properties of investigated samples of willow were tested using thermogravimetric analysis (TG). Irradiation of willow biomass samples with doses from 100 to 900 kGy resulted in degradation of its structure observed as decrease of degradation temperature. (author)

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[en] Dose reader CD-07 has been introduced for measurements of a dose distribution during dose mapping exercises and for calculations of electron beam energy. This instrument consists of an SP-880 spectrophotometer equipped with a driving motor to move a dosimetric foil across light beam in the front of narrow light aperture. To control the movement of the foil and to present and store the measuring results a specialized software has been developed. In this paper the use of dose reader CD-07 in Performance Qualification of irradiated herbs was described. (authors)

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[en] Electron beam irradiation was tested against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi (Fod) a pathogen causing Fusarium wilt of carnation. Efficiency of the different radiation doses on in vitro survival and development of Fod culture on potato-dextrose agar (PDA) medium was tested. A dose of 6 kGy completely inhibited the pathogen growth. Application of radiation for microbiological decontamination of four substrates used for carnation production demonstrated that, depending on the type of substrate, doses of 10 or 25 kGy were effective in Fod elimination. All carnation plants cultivated on radiation decontaminated substrates were healthy. (authors)