Biological testing
preceding an archive transfer
The Dutch Public Records Act
1995 is the main law in the Netherlands which
sets rules in the field of
general information from the central government.
When your archive must be
transferred to another archive depot a biological
test should take place in
advance. We check your archives/depots for the
presence of dirt, lint, active
mould/fungal spores and insects such as
silverfish. After the inspection
you receive a comprehensive report of the
test findings containing advice
and an appropriate course of action to take
in case the archive is affected.
The inspection should be performed at least
14 days prior to the transfer
taking place.
Biological testing
for an affected archive
If there is a threat that your
archive is affected by mould we can perform
an inspection and random
sampling of the archive to determine the presence
of active mould and the risks
they pose.
In this case the inspection is
performed in accordance with the official
sampling method of the Dutch
Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE, formerly the
Netherlands Institute for
Cultural Heritage, ICN).
Cleaning
You can contact us for
disinfection and cleaning of an affected archive
or
depot.
Monitoring
We also assess the concentration
of mould in archives and storage spaces
over a longer period. With the
help of instruments, Rodac plates and swab
samples an indication can be
given of a possible spread of mould.
For each depot standard
procedure includes:
-Measurement of active mould
spores in the air.
-Measurement of active mould in
surface dust.
-Qualitative measurement of
mould on and in difficult to reach places.
-Climate control and relative
humidity of the air.
-Publishing a report. This is
valid for 2 months.