58 / 2023-04-27 10:01:59

Organic pollutants in museums and their relationship with iron corrosion

museum environment,organic pollutants,statistical analysis,iron corrosion

Indoor air quality in museums is important for conservation of artifacts, as well as the protection of the employees and visitors. In this study, four museums located in different regions of China were selected, including Beijing, Qingdao, Wuhan, and Guangzhou. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the museum environment, air and dust samples were collected from different locations in each museum, such as galleries, storage rooms, laboratories, and offices, and temperature and humidity were monitored continuously. In addition, different types of iron plates were also placed at each sampling location, and their mass and surface changes were measured periodically to evaluate corrosion. Over 120 volatile and semi-volatile organic pollutants were detected and quantified, including carbonyls, organic acids, phthalates, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphates, pesticides. Among them, more than 60% of pollutants have a detection frequency higher than 50%. The results indicated that organic pollutants are widespread in the museum environment. The maximum concentration of pollutants in the air is 2.9 mg/m3, and that in settled dust is 500 μg/g, which is generally similar to the concentration range reported in other literature. Multivariate statistical analysis shows that museum locations can be clustered for certain chemical classes. Multi-linear regression shows possible correlation between iron corrosion and different organic pollutants, most of which were rarely reported in previous studies. Our research conducted a comprehensive investigation of the museum environment, and the results guarantied further research on the environmental impacts on cultural heritage artifacts, employees, and visitors.