Assessment of the conservation state of stone materials in relation to the level environmental pollution in the conservation place

The multidisciplinary project SALVALARTE Respira Pulito has been carried out by different research groups operating in Sicily. The aim of the project is the assessment of “health risks” for monuments in relation to environmental pollution in terms of threshold for the concentration of aggressive components. In this framework, the duty of the Laboratory of Chemical Engineering for Cultural Heritage, University of Palermo, is to analyse samples taken from monuments in Sicily, in order both to characterize the constitutive materials and to assess the conservation state. The analytical results are related to the environmental conditions monitored by other research groups.