Air Quality Changes in a Museum Damaged by a Tsunami‐ Whale and Sea Museum, Iwate, Japan ‐

This paper provides quantitative data that describes the evolution of the air quality in the Whale and Sea Museum, located in the Iwate prefecture, collected after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The museum was damaged significantly by the disaster, and restoration works continued for over six years. The air quality in the temporary storage facility and museum was monitored during the rehabilitation process. Evaluation of air quality is carried out by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry, ion chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the characteristics of the chemical components differed depending on the measurement locations inside the building. The museum atmosphere tended to be alkaline as the airtightness increased because of the maintenance works at the entrance. It was also determined that it was necessary to study the intake/exhaust routes and to clean them according to the contamination degree. In Japan, there are recommended museum air quality standards for acetic acid, formic acid, alkali, and aldehydes. The results indicated that these standards should not be used as a reference for damaged museums. Furthermore, at the temporary storage facilities for to store the collections during the rehabilitation of the museum, solvents such as ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene are initially abundant, although they can be reduced by ventilation, while other components such as 2E1H was confirmed in this case are likely to remain.