Q: I work with blueprints that have been stored away for decades. Unfortunately, a large percentage of them have become moldy. I have safety concerns about being in contact with such mold, and is there a way to reduce or eliminate the mold and its odor while retaining the integrity of the blueprints?

A: Paper is generally cellulose fiber, often from wood pulp with varying degrees of refinement and long-term stability. This ranges from ground wood newsprint which yellows in a matter of days, to high quality cotton rag papers which hardly change over centuries.

Physical damage occurs with excessive drying, usually associated with heat, high humidity and overexposure to light, either artificial or direct sunlight. These factors accelerate chemical reactions within the paper structure that cause deterioration and degradation. Some inks and other pigments are particularly susceptible to damage by light, especially ultraviolet present in normal daylight and fluorescents.

It’s hard to talk to you in specifics about your personal safety when dealing with these documents. Since you say that they’re already covered with mold, you do have some concerns. Without even knowing the species of mold, you should be very careful when handling these documents. You should certainly keep them in a controlled environment and should not move them into public areas or other offices that aren’t already affected by the spores. You should consider wearing long-sleeved shirts and disposable gloves when coming in contact with the papers. You should also consider using a filtered mask to reduce the potential for breathing in unwanted spores. One other consideration would be to purchase a 3-stage HEPA style air filter. Run the filter (or several units if necessary) in the room frequently. If you are in the room on a regular basis, you might even consider running the filter 24/7. This will help to reduce airborne spores that might occur from handling the documents. That’s our guidance in the "short term."

For the long term, you should certainly look into the cleaning of these important documents to ensure that the mold or other biological concerns (including bacteria) do not further degrade them. Librarians have dealt with these kinds of issues and have become very adept at avoiding them for documents stored in humid basements and buildings. There are myriad library preservation associations that have successfully removed mold and other water damage while maintaining the integrity of the original documents. The U.S. Library of Congress should have information about the preservation of blueprints. And you can search the Web to look for preservation associations. There are also a number of commercial companies located across the country that can do this for you on-site.

Your problem is troublesome but not unique. Follow our short-term guidance now and begin looking for a solution to the problem for the future. You should be able to save most, if not all, of your blueprints.

Travis West is the president of Building Air Quality Inc., a Houston-based indoor air quality consulting firm. He can be reached at twest@baq1.com, or toll-free at 866-367-1177.

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