ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Preventive conservation has focused attention on the importance of the cultural environment in controlling damage to our artistic heritage. Despite extensive monitoring of the museum environment and increasingly accurate measurement of the damage to the surfaces of objects, the link between environment and the damage it causes is not always fully explored. This paper will examine the way in which environmental factors are linked to damage and the how they can be related to the formulation of standards and guidelines. Studies of the thermodynamics and mechanisms of damage can aid decisions about the level and frequency of intervention.
