title: Application of spectrometric analysis to the identification of pollution sources causing cultural heritage damage.
abstract: Black crusts are recognized to have been, up to now, one of the major deterioration forms affecting the built heritage in urban areas. Their formation is demonstrated to occur mainly on carbonate building materials, whose interaction with an SO2-loaded atmosphere leads to the transformation of calcium carbonate (calcite) into calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum) which, together with embedded carbonaceous particles, consequently forms the black crusts on the stone surface. An analytical study was carried out on black crust samples collected from limestone monumental buildings and churches belonging to the European built Heritage, i.e., the Corner Palace in Venice (Italy), the Cathedral of St. Rombouts in Mechelen (Belgium), and the Church of St. Eustache in Paris (France). For a complete characterization of the black crusts, an approach integrating different and complementary techniques was used, including laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy. In particular, the application of LA-ICP-MS permitted to obtain a complete geochemical characterization in terms of trace elements of the black crusts from the inner parts to the external layers contributing to the identification of the major combustion sources responsible for the deterioration over time of the monuments under study. In addition, the obtained results revealed a relation between the height of sampling and the concentration of heavy metals and proved that the crust composition can be a marker to evaluate the variation of the fuels used over time.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Ecologia e Scienze della Terra (DiBEST), Università della Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy, cbelfio@unict.it.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Belfiore
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonazza
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Comite
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: La Russa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pezzino
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ruffolo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabbioni
mesh_terms: D001108:Architecture; D001530:Belgium; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000032:analysis; D002133:Calcium Sulfate / Q000032:analysis; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000032:analysis*; D003469:Culture; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005602:France; D007558:Italy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010297:Paris; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D002133:Calcium Sulfate