Pollutants in the Museum Environment

Pamela B. Hatchfield

ISBN: 1-873132-96-4 • $47.50 • Paper

The focus of this publication is pollutants in the museum environment, their sources, how they can harm works of art, and what to do about it. It is aimed at people who care for cultural artifacts: conservators, collections care specialists, curators, collectors and registrars. It is also useful for people who make decisions concerning building materials, furnishings, ventilation, cleaning and maintenance operations: designers, architects, engineers, managers, carpenters and painters.

The people who care for, handle and work with collections of cultural artifacts and works of art understand the sensitive nature of the materials and are in a unique position to observe changes in their condition. This publication is intended to aid them in the identification of environmental damage to cultural artifacts and of potential sources of that deterioration, resulting in the prevention of damage to these irreplaceable objects.

Includes discussion of types of pollutants present in the environment and their sources, describes the types of damage sustained by materials due to the presence of pollutants in museum, outlines testing procedures used in identifying the presence of pollutants in museums, describes strategies for limiting the potential for damage by the choice of low minimize hazards, presence some of the materials commonly found in association with museum collections, discusses scavengers, absorbents provide technical information on plastics, product stability and sources, and on using Material Safety Data Sheets.