Pollutant

Description

A gaseous, Aerosol, or Particulate contaminant. Pollutants are generated by natural and man-made sources, such as decomposition, abrasion, or combustion. Pollutants may be damaging or toxic to the environment, people, and materials. Currently the pollutants with the highest outdoor concentrations generally occur in big cities (Nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, Ozone, Carbon monoxide, particulates) or near smoke stacks (Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides). Very dense (Haze, or combination of smoke and fog, is called smog. Indoor air pollutants (organic acids, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, ozone, particulates, etc) are emitted from construction materials (wood, insulation, carpets, paints), office machines (copiers, printers) or are transported inside from the outdoor environment. The concentration of air pollutants may be decreased by minimizing sources or by reacting or absorbing the pollutants from the air. Once inside a museum, pollutants can deposit and interact deleteriously with museum materials. Scavengers are used to minimize the concentration of air pollutants in contained spaces.

TABLE Gas-phase pollutants are Ozone, Hydrogen sulfide, Sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen oxides, Formaldehyde, Formic acid, and Acetic acid.

Synonyms and Related Terms

pollutants; air pollutants; pollution

Resources and Citations

• AIC Conservation Wiki: Exhibit Technical Notes: Environmental Control
• Exhibit Guidelines Technical Note: Monitoring Pollutants Inside an Exhibit Case
• Exhibit Guidelines Technical Note: Using Pollutant Absorbers Inside an Exhibit Case
• Jean Tétreault, Airborne Pollutants in Museums, Galleries and Archives: Risk Assessment, Control Strategies and Preservation Management. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Conservation Institute, 2003.
• Cecily Grzywacz, Tools for Conservation: Monitoring for Gaseous Pollutants in Museum Environments. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. 2006.
• Elyse Canosa & Sara Norrehed; Strategies for Pollutant Monitoring in Museum Environments, Swedish National Heritage Board, 2019. Link
• Jean Tétreault, Agent of Deterioration: Pollutants Airborne Pollutants
• Pam Hatchfield, Pollutants in the Museum Environment, Archetype Press, London, 2002
• A Glossary of Paper Conservation Terms, Margaret Ellis (ed.), Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York City, 1998
• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
• Website: AMOL reCollections Glossary -http://amol.org.au/recollections/7/p/htm