Impact A ssessment on O rganic M aterials in S elected European M useums

1. Impact Assessment on Organic Materials in Selected European Museums IAQ, Padua, 10 - 12 Nov. 2004 Elin Dahlin and Terje Grøntoft Norwegian Institute for Air Research Joel Taylor and Nigel Blades, UCL Sara Rentmeister, ALU-FMF Mihalis Lazaridis and Thodoros Glytsos, TU-Crete Christopher Calnan, National Trust, Janusz Czop, National Museum Krakow, David Howell, Historic Royal Palaces, Anne Sommer-Larsen, Trøndelag Folk Museum, Christoph Pitzen, Würtembergisches Landesmuseum, John Azzopardi, Wignacourt Museum

2. The MASTER ProjectEUK4-CT-2002-00093 ”Preventive Conservation Strategies for Protection of Organic Objects in Museums, Historic Buildings and Archives”

3. Impact assessment on organic material – problems to be solved • In museums and historic buildings all over Europe, objects made of organic materials are being affected either by display or by storage conditions because of unsuitable environmental conditions.

4. The Main Aim of the Project • To provide conservator staff of museums, historic buildings and archives with a new preventive conservation strategy for the protection of cultural property, based on an early warning system assessing the environmental impact on organic objects. • Up to now there has been no early warning tool for organic materials.

5. The Project partners • Norwegian Institute for Air Research, NILU, (NO) • University College London, (UK) • Alberts-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, (DE) • Technical University of Crete, (GR) • National Museum in Krakow, (PL) • Historic Royal Palaces, (UK) • Trøndelag Folk Museum, (NO) • Subcontractors: • The National Trust, (UK) • The Consulting and Support Centre for the Museums of • Baden Würtemberg, (DE) • Wignacourt Collegiate Museum, (ML)

6. Questionnaire about decay of organic collections in European museums, archives and historic buildingsDeveloped by the partner; University College London,Centre for Sustainable Heritage

7. Aims of questionnaire • Determine the kinds of monitoring carried out across Europe • Determine the perceived threats to organic collections • The motivations behind monitoring • The kinds of damage found on organic collections

8. Target institutions and responses • European museums, historic houses and archives were sent questionnaires to approx. 100 institutions • 31 institutions of varying size from 18 different countries responded, from Finland to Malta, and Portugal to Hungary

9. J. Taylor, 2004

10. J. Taylor, 2004

11. Development of an Early Warning System • Assessment of environmental factors not enough in order to understand the real effect on art objects • The knowledge of the actual reaction between the art object and the contaminant is crucial • Development of sensors which emulate the reaction between art objects and the contaminants and which give a measurable effect responce will be a useful Early Warning System

12. Development of the Early Warning Sensor (EWO-sensor) • Different organic polymers have been tested • The intention is to develop a sensor that can indicate the rate of chemical change, or damage, that objects are likely to suffer in a particular storage or display environment. • The main processes of chemical deterioration for organic objects involve either oxidation or acidic processes, or possibly a combination of both.

13. The Early Warning Sensor (EWO-sensor) • The EWO sensor is manufactured by spin coating the polymer onto a glass carrier. The production of EWO sensors is made by the partner Freiburg Material Research Centre • Chemical deterioration of certain polymers has shown to be detectable by simple techniques such as uv-visible spectrometry.

14. The Museum of Decorative Art & Design, Oslo, Norway Trøndelag Folk Museum, Trondheim, Norway Blickling Hall, Norfolk, UK Tower of London, The Bloody Tower, London, UK Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany Schwarzwälder Trachtenmuseum, Haslach, Germany The Jan Matejko House, Krakow, Poland The Karol Szymanowski Museum “Atma”,MNK Department in Zakopane, Poland Wignacourt Collegiate Museum, Rabat, Malta The Historical Museum of Crete, Heraklion, Greece Field test sites

15. Field test exposure rack Passive gas samplers EWO sensors unshielded EWO sensors, shielded Paper Blue wool Dosimeter Silk

16. Laboratory and field test • Tasks: • 1. Laboratory test: • EWO response to controlled • conc. of NO2, O3 and SO2. • - Calibration • 2. Field test: • EWO response to measured • conc. of NO2, O3 and SO2 • in the museums. • - Compare with lab. test. • - Relate to real objects.

17. Laboratory test: Calibration curves t = 21 days T = 22oC RH = 70 % RH = 45 %

18. The field test programme • Duration 12 months • 3 test sites in each museum: • Outdoor (A) • In an open exhibition area (B) • Inside a showcase (C)

19. Results • 1. EWO response 2. Environmental effect a. Environmental parameter values • Passive gas samplers: - NO2, SO2, O3, Org. Acids. • Logger data - Temp, RH, Light (dust, number of visitors etc.) b. Correlaton between environmental dose (parameter values) and EWO response.

20. EWO 1S (T) March + April + May EWO1S A (T) 0.035 EWO 1S B (T) 0.03 EWO 1S C (T) 0.025 0.02 0.015 Change in abs.factor 0.01 0.005 0 -0.005 1-Oslo 10-Crete 7-Krakow 6-Haslach 5-Stuttgart 8-Zakopane 2-Trondheim 9-Wignacourt 3-Blickling Hall -0.01 4-Tower of London Field test: EWO – response. All stations / locations.

21. MARCH 50 C 45 40 B ) 3 35 A 30 (mikrog m 25 20 2 NO 15 10 5 0 1-Oslo 10-Crete 7-Krakow 6-Haslach 5-Stuttgart 8-Zakopane 2-Trondheim 9-Wignacourt 3-Blickling Hall 4-Tower of London NO2 concentrations. Location A, B and C

22. O3 concentrations. Location A, B and C O3: Less variation in concentration than NO2 SO2: Very low concentrations

23. Organic acid concentrations. Location C Correlates negatively with NO2

24. Comparison between lab and field tests

25. IMPACT - modelling • - Modelling of Indoor/outdoor (I/O)-ratio of • NO2, O3 and SO2. • Modelling of total flux of pollutants • (NO2, O3 and SO2)to art objects exhibited indoors. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainableheritage/impact/

27. Art material Room surface material Area (m2) Area (m2) Surface material Wall material 1 Embroidered vestments (inside showcases) 26 35 Globigerina Limestone Wall material 2. 35 Glass in window panes as showcase Paintings 3 Wooden furniture (polished) Floor 8 40 Cement tiles Ceiling 40 Globigerina Limestone slabs and iron beams Volume (m3) 186 Example: Naturally ventilated buildings Wignacourt Museum, Rabat, Malta Model input: Measurements of Environment: Indoor temp : 22 oC Outdoor temp : 7 oC Indoor rel. hum : 74 % Average wind speed: 5 m s-1 Outdoor NO2 : 8.5 ppb Indoor NO2 : 4.5 ppb

28. limestone paintings wood, hard concrete fine cloth Model output: Indoor NO2 = 5 ppb Total fluxes to the room surface materials (g s-1): Limestone (wall, ceiling) : 0.127 Cloth (embroidered vestments) : 0.046 Fine concrete (cement floor tiles) : 0.035 Hard wood (furniture) : 0.006 Paintings : 0.002 Glass (window panes, showcase) : 0.000

29. For updating of the project please visit our web page:www.nilu.no/master