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Yes—some visitor-emitted compounds can leave gallery air and settle on indoor surfaces. A six-week study at the University of Colorado Art Museum inferred that transfer from continuous air measurements, including a finding that lactic acid disappeared faster than ventilation alone could explain. The study did not directly test every artwork, and deposition does not by itself mean damage.
What did the museum study find?
Researchers measured volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, other trace gases and submicron aerosol in the University of Colorado Art Museum’s main gallery for six weeks. They also sampled air at a supply vent. Comparing the two locations helped distinguish compounds that changed with ventilation from those that left gallery air more quickly. The peer-reviewed study by Pagonis et al. (2019) describes the measurements and modeling.
Carbon dioxide and acetone generally tracked crowd-related changes and ventilation. Lactic acid declined faster than ventilation could account for, consistent with uptake by indoor surfaces. The team used continuous measurements and a box model to estimate emissions, deposition, chemical reactions and ventilation; it did not swab or chemically analyze every artwork.
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CIRES summarized the modeled result this way: 97 percent of the lactic acid emitted in the museum ended up on a surface. That is an estimate of the compound’s fate in the study environment—not a measurement showing that 97 percent landed on artwork, or that every object received the same amount. CIRES study lead author Demetrios Pagonis said: “We found that 97 percent of the lactic acid emitted in the museum ended up on a surface, while some previous models would have predicted little or no surface uptake.” CIRES’s account of the study explains the finding.
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As second author Derek Price put it, “It left the air faster than the air left the building—which told us that lactic acid was sticking to the building surfaces.” The observation supports surface deposition, but does not identify how much reached any specific painting, frame or sculpture.
How do visitors contribute compounds to gallery air?
People release compounds through breathing and skin-related emissions. Personal-care products can contribute too. The CU study considered visitor-associated emissions alongside other sources, including cleaning and painting products and alcohol on breath. Museum air is therefore a mixture, not a chemical signature attributable to visitors alone.
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Whether a compound remains airborne or partitions onto surfaces depends partly on its physical and chemical properties. In the study, deposition was significant for VOCs with saturation concentration (C*) below 108 μg m−3 and Henry’s Law constant above 102 M atm−1. In practical terms, volatility and affinity for water help shape how compounds behave indoors; those thresholds describe the study’s technical findings, not a universal rule for every museum or material.
Does deposition mean artwork is being damaged?
No. Deposition describes where a compound goes; it does not establish that it harms an object. Potential effects depend on the chemical, concentration, exposure duration, surface chemistry and the artwork’s material and condition. Object composition, earlier treatments, local airflow, humidity and whether an object is enclosed can all affect exposure and response.
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CIRES reported that the art-harming pollutants measured in the CU Art Museum were at safe levels under the conditions of that study. That finding applies to the pollutants measured in that gallery; it does not establish that visitor emissions are harmless everywhere or that all materials respond alike. A 2020 museum indoor-air workshop report hosted by The Met notes that indoor sources include outdoor air, construction and furnishings, objects, staff, visitors and personal-care products. It also cautions that evidence is incomplete for many suspected pollutants and that systematic material-damage studies cover only a limited set of compounds.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does this compare with visitor monitoring at other sites?
A 2022 study at the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo’s The Last Supper is housed, examined stable carbon isotope ratios of carbon dioxide and ammonia as real-time visitor-monitoring indicators. It reported visitor-related variation at that site. That study used a different method and measured different indicators; it does not replicate the CU Art Museum’s deposition analysis or establish a universal rate of chemical transfer.
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Air concentration, inferred surface deposition and demonstrated material damage are distinct claims. Results from different institutions cannot be ranked meaningfully without accounting for what was measured, gallery ventilation and surface conditions, object materials, and exposure duration.
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