Corrosivity measurements of indoor museum environments using lead coupons as dosimeters

The corrosivity of 19 different indoor environments was investigated by the use of lead coupons, by an adapted methodology from ISO 11844 using weight measurements. The field test was carried out in storage areas of real museum and archive buildings. Parallel with the 3-month exposures of the coupons, climate and pollutants H2S, SO2, and organic acids were measured. Only relative humidity and organic acids showed individual linear correlation with the formation of corrosion mass. Using linear multiregression analysis a prediction expression was found, which included the combined impact of relative humidity, organic acids, and H2S, on the formation of corrosion. The corrosion mass measurements give a more holistic evaluation of the impact of the total environment on materials than if evaluating from single factors, e.g., organic acid concentrations only.