Paper documents, like all materials age. As paper ages, it decomposes. Decomposed paper can be a problem for libraries. If libraries know why paper decomposes, ways may be found to slow or halt degradation. To speed up the process of aging in order to understand its consequences, scientists often subject paper to accelerated aging. However it is important to know whether and under which condition accelerated aging really simulates natural aging. To find this out, degradation products of naturally aged items need to be determined and compared to those of accelerated aging items.
From 1994 to 2000, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and its Institute for Standards Research (ISR) administered a multi-institutional research program designed to develop new accelerated aging test methods that could be used to model the natural aging of any type of printing and writing paper. Consequently, 15 printing and writing papers were custom-made, ranging from 100% cotton to high-lignin, and from acidic to alkaline. The accelerated aging studies addressed the effects of several environmental parameters on the aging of the papers: temperature and relative humidity (RH); light; and nitric oxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3).
However, there was no data from long-term natural aging of the papers that could be compared to the results from the accelerated aging tests to validate the accelerated aging models. Therefore, ASTM/ISR engaged a group of 10 libraries/archives willing to store sets of the 15 custom papers for 100 years, and four research laboratories to conduct periodic testing of the papers. "The Long-Term Natural Aging of Printing and Writing Papers" project began in 2000.
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