The influence of atmospheric pollutants on the deterioration of museum collections

In view of the above issues, the purpose of our research effort was to establish the ranges of chemical composition, concentration, size distribution and sources of the airborne particulate matter found in the indoor atmosphere of several European and one Japanese museum. The chemical composition, size and indoor and outdoor origin of the suspended particulate matter have been identified with a number of X-ray techniques such as electron Probe X-Ray microanalysis (EPXMA) and energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Analysis. Our results constitute to our knowledge the first detailed study of the chemical nature of the indoor particulate matter in the selected museums and to the lasting conservation of the works of art