Measurements for indoor air quality assessment at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples (Italy)

Abstract

The state of works of art exhibited inside museums can be strongly influenced by indoor air quality, due to chemical activity of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter. For that reason it is important to carry out periodic air quality controls to check if the concentration levels of air pollutants comply with the limits specified by the national laws. In this work we show results obtained in a monitoring campaign carried out at the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, one of the most important museums in Southern Italy. Results concern indoor monitoring of inorganic and organic gaseous pollutants and PM10 and PM2.5 fractions; moreover we also present the comparison between indoor and outdoor particulate matter concentration. From this analysis emerged a satisfying indoor condition with respect to gaseous pollutants, without any limit exceedance; in contrast particulate matter exhibits high concentration levels with frequent exceedances. Comparison with outdoor concentrations demonstrates the influence of dust and organic matter transported from the park surrounding the museum due to wind and visitors stamping.