A book contaminated with 'poison which may lead to death' can be found from the university library

by Sandrine Néel

Older books are not only interesting in the content being written, but also sometimes astonishing discoveries such as " the document of 1300 years ago is found from the book binding " and "the traces of medieval European glasses are found " . This time, it is talked about the discovery of "poison which may lead to death" from the book which was held in the library of the university.

How we discovered three poisonous books in our university library
https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-three-poisonous-books-in-our-university-library-98358

Researchers who investigated three books on history in the Danish University of Southern Denmark University Library by fluorescent X-ray analysis found that the cover of the book contains high concentrations of arsenic . Researchers knew that poisons were included in books from the beginning and did not use fluorescent X-ray analysis, but they performed fluorescent X-ray analysis to analyze characters hidden in the cover of three books Thing.

Fluorescent X-ray analysis refers to the principle of releasing unique secondary X-rays from metallic elements contained in materials when irradiating X-rays towards arts and paintings, And quantify the quantity. By combining image analysis with a high-resolution digital camera and fluorescent X-ray analysis, it is possible to read the lower letters which are filled with other paint from the top and hidden.

The researchers found that the cover of the book was made by reusing the old document and tried to decipher the old Latin script written there. However, since the cover of the book was covered widely with green paint, it seems to try to identify the letters written under the paint by fluorescent X-ray analysis. That's why fluorescent X-ray analysis of the cover revealed that the green paint used for the cover was "high concentration arsenic".

Arsenic has a strong toxicity to living organisms, poisoning symptoms such as nausea and abdominal pain appear when ingested, and sometimes it is a lethal substance that leads to onset of cancer. Arsenic compound was found to be a vivid emerald green color, it was used as a paint for paintings and art objects.

Paris green and other arsenic compound paint began production in Europe in the early 19th century and many artists used it to express vibrant green color. As arsenic-containing paint continued to be used for painting until its toxicity was recognized in the latter half of the 19th century, there are not many paintings in the museum that contain a large amount of arsenic . Arsenic-containing paints are very popular because of their vivid colors, and sometimes they were used for book covers and clothing.

For the three books discovered this time, researchers believe that it was hard to believe that paint containing arsenic was used for book binding, and in the 19th century it was used for protection against worm attack etc. . In the library, three books are placed in a cardboard box, and a safe label is put on a well-ventilated cabinet and it is kept. In the future, we are planning to digitize three books to avoid physical manipulation of materials as much as possible.

by Mark Colliton