Indoor environment and conservation in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium

Indoor and outdoor atmospheres of the ‘Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten’ (KMSK, Royal Museum of Fine Arts) in Antwerp, Belgium, were thoroughly characterised to determine the air quality inside the museum and the factors controlling it. During a winter and a summer campaign aerosol particles, pollutant gases, bacteria and fungi were sampled and different indoors microclimatic parameters were measured. The chemical composition of particulates suspended in indoor and outdoor air was analysed, both with reference to bulk aerosol matter and to individual particles. Outdoor sources largely determined the composition of indoor aerosol. The main particle types identified in winter were Ca-rich, Ca–Si and sea salt particles. In summer, S-rich particles were most abundant. Dry deposition was sampled in order to determine the amount of particulate matter that could potentially deposit onto the works of art. The concentrations of NO2 and SO2 amounted to 12 and 5–6 ppb, respectively, both in winter and in the summer. The microclimates inside the exhibition rooms were affected by poorly balanced heating and air-conditioning, free-standing humidifiers, ventilating and lighting systems and the daily flux of visitors, which produced rapid changes and marked thermo-hygrometric gradients. Based on these results, suggestions for the improvement of the heating and air-conditioning system could be made. Microbial loads were higher in summer than in winter. However, the proportion of microorganisms capable of degrading proteins or hydrolysing fats, and thus pernicious to works of art, was not significantly increased inside the museum.