Re: [ARSCLIST] Tapes and Mold

[Christie Peterson <cpeterso@xxxxxxxxx>]

We recently dealt with a mold outbreak in the library here, and let me 
just say, you want to do everything in your power to prevent it from 
happening.  I strongly urge you to isolate the moldy/potentially moldy 
items in sealed plastic bags ASAP, until you decide what to do with them.

peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>  Common
> "wisdom" is that the tapes need to be kept below 50% RH for the fungus to
> remain dormant.  Some fungus, however, can become active as low as 40% RH.
>
> The flowering heads contain the majority of the spores and, if not removed,
> running the tapes over the heads during playback will cause spores to be
> thrown amazing distances through the room.  Inhaling dormant spores can make
> you just as sick as inhaling active fragments of the flowering heads.
>
>   
And throwing dormant spores all over the place leaves you wide open to a 
major outbreak.  All it takes is one day in August when your HVAC goes 
out for a few hours, or the electricity goes out overnight, and you've 
suddenly got a forest of fungus going all over things you didn't even 
think were infested.  And it just gets worse each time it happens, since 
each outbreak spreads even more spores.

So do yourself a favor, and immediately bag anything you think might be 
infested.  And when you treat it, make sure you don't have any other 
tapes in the area at a minimum (if you have a conservation lab with a 
ventilation/isolation hood available, even better).  This may sound a 
bit paranoid, but this is one of those "ounce of prevention" situations.

Good luck!

Christie Peterson
Project Archivist, Muskie Archives & Special Collections
Bates College
70 Campus Avenue
Lewiston, ME 04240-6018
(t) 207-753-6918
(f) 207-755-5911



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