Museums pollutants

An on-line model has been developed for conservators to help them estimate indoor atmospheric concentrations of the common museum pollutants (Blades et al., 2000). This is especially useful if used in conjunction with targeted analytical campaigns to assess the atmosphere in a museum or gallery, although the interpretation of the results of such measurements is usually not straightforward (Section 12.8). 

Table 12.4 Common museum pollutants with notes on sources, typical levels and standard values for them if applicable. 

Pollutants. The problems posed by ak pollutants are very serious. Within a museum, measures can be taken to remove harmful substances as efficiently as possible by means of the installation of appropriate filter systems in the ventilation equipment. Proposed specification values for museum climate-control systems requke filtering systems having an efficiency for particulate removal in the dioctyl phthalate test of 60—80%. Systems must be able to limit both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide concentrations <10 /ig/m, and ozone to <2 /ig/m. ... 

Klokkernes, T. (1991), The influence of air pollution on ancient monuments, buildings and museum objects, in Hicks, S., U. Miller, S. Nilsson, and I. Vuorela (eds.),... 

Hisham, M. W. M., and D. Grosjean, Air Pollution in Southern California Museums Indoor and Outdoor Levels of Nitrogen Dioxide, Peroxyacetyl Nitrate, Nitric Acid, and Chlorinated Hydrocarbons, Environ. Sci. Technol., 25, 857-862 (1991a). 

The third category of metallic artifacts includes collections of a most different provenance—such as scientific instruments, fine arts, historic pieces, ethnographic specimens, etc., which are usually kept in museums. Contrary to the belief that an object is safe once it enters a museum, certain storage or display conditions may lead to corrosive reactions that are different from those found in the natural environment [264, 265]. Some of these dangers come from off-gassing from materials used to build display cases and rooms, as well as air pollution introduced by visitors. 

The few reported cases concerning other metals, like zinc, aluminum, and magnesium, attest their susceptibility to corrosion due to volatile compounds in the museum environment [271]. Iron is naturally vulnerable to atmospheric corrosion whatever the pollutants, and the conservation of ferrous artifacts implicates a precise control of relative humidity, often requiring a surface protection like varnish, wax, or oil [272]. 

Hatchfield PB (2002) Pollutants in the museum environment, Archetype Pubhcations, London. 

Schieweck, A., Lohrengel, B., Siwinski, N. et al. (2005) Organic and inorganic pollutants in storage rooms of the lower Saxony state museum Hanover, Germany. Atmospheric Environment, 39(33), 6098-108. 

Therefore, not only packaging and building products, but also the artifacts themselves contribute to the indoor air pollution by generating different substances causing adverse effects both on human health and on cultural assets (Schieweck et al., 2005). Influences and interactions in the museum environment are described in Figure 12.1. 

In order to achieve a comprehensive control of the surrounding conditions, many museum institutions today use progressive containment as an underlying strategy to preserve artifacts in an ideal way. In order to minimize environmental influences (climate fluctuations, entry of polluted outer air), climatic requirements... 

Indoor environments usually have lower concentrations of the outdoor pollutants than the outdoor atmosphere as many museums are equipped with air conditioning and various filtration systems, and of course additionally indoor surfaces (including artifacts) can act as reaction sites and sinks of pollutants by virtue of reaction and adsorption processes. 

Blades, N., Oreszczyn, T., Bordass, B. and Cassar, M. (2000) Guidelines on Pollution Control in Museum Buildings, Museum Practice, Museums Association, London, UK. 

Air pollution levels in air conditioned and naturally ventilated museums a pilot study. Preprints of the 12th Triennial Meeting of the International Committeefor Conservation ICOM-CC, Lyon, France, Vol. 1, pp. 31-7. 

Grosjean, D. and Parmar, S.S. (1991) Removal of air pollutant mixtures from museum display cases. Studies in Conservation, 36,... 

Grzywacz, C.M. (2006) Monitoring for gaseous pollutants in museum environments. Tools for Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

Hackney, S. (1984) The distribution of gaseous air pollution within museums. Studies in Conservation, 29, 105-16. 

Air pollution is southern Californian museums-indoor and outdoor levels of N02, PAN, HN03 and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Environmental Science and Technology, 25, 875-62. 

Godoi, A.F., Joos, P. and van Grieken, R. (2002) Characterisation of air pollutants in museum showcases. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Non-destructive Testing and Microanalysis for the Diagnostics and Conservation of the Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Antwerp, Belgium,... 

Schieweck, A. (2009) Air pollutants in museum showcases-material emissions, influences, impact on artworks. PhD thesis, University of Applied Arts Dresden. Publication in preparation. 

Schieweck, A., Markewitz, D. and Salthammer, T. (2007b) Screening emission analysis of construction materials and evaluation of airborne pollutants in newly constructed display cases, in Museum Microclimates, Contributions to the Conference in Copenhagen 19-23 November 2007 (eds T. Padfield and K. Borchersen), The National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 67-72. 

Tetreault, J. (2003) Airborne Pollutants in Museums, Galleries, and Archives Risk Assessment, Control Strategies, and Preservation Management, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Canada. 

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