The effect of ionizing gamma ray radiation on the biology of the Periplaneta Americana

The project's ultimate goal was to study the feasibility of using ionizing gamma rays to destroy the rodent insects that infest the paper contained in libraries and archives. The experiments dealt with the effects of a wide range of radiation doses on the main biological traits of a population of blattoid insects (of the Periplaneta americana species), during the various stages of their life cycle. The results of tests based on the survival, induced sterility and moiling of these insects, all point to the fact that even very low doses of radiation are effective. Furthermore, low doses of radiation are not harmful to the materials that the objects to be reclaimed are made of.