A Methodology for Assessing Pollution Off-Gassing of Museum Construction Materials Using a Pyrolysis Microfurnace

Abstract

Museum professionals must ensure that protective enclosures for artworks do not in fact cause damage to the objects within due to pollution off-gassing from the container’s components. Ideally, all materials used in proximity to artworks should be assessed for their potential to emit harmful volatiles. The standard approach used in the museum field, known as the Oddy test, requires significant effort and time and can produce unreliable results if not conducted by a trained staff member, all of which reduce the likelihood that proper vetting will be rigorously employed. This paper reports a methodology utilizing a microfurnace pyrolyzer coupled to a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer to optimize these assessments and produce actionable results with minimal time and expense. Simple confirmatory chemical tests augment the direct thermal desorption (DTD) experiment, and as a last resort, time-consuming accelerated aging tests are utilized if deemed necessary to eliminate or decide between options when a non-polluting material is not available. The successes and challenges of this developing protocol are highlighted for the planning of a recent non-traditional, multisensory exhibition, THE LUME Indianapolis, with its inaugural digital experience featuring the works of Vincent van Gogh at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.