Volatile Organic Compound Database

Welcome! Below are four ways to access data from AIC's Material Selection and Specification Working Group's (MWG) database on Pollutants that Damage Art.

Each link highlights, in four different ways, the chemical compounds that have been confirmed, through analysis, to be harmful to collection materials. They were collated from peer-reviewed articles and publications. The links essentially represent "cheat sheets", meaning they were created to help you learn more about a product or material and whether it is safe for use near art.

The links are all part of an Airtable that can be added to over time by your participation. If you know of a reference that describes a pollutant and it is not cited here, please alert the MWG, and they will add it to the list.

• Pollutants known to be damaging to collections
• Sources of Pollutants known to be damaging to collections
• Classes of collection materials affected by these pollutants
• Publications used to create this list of known pollutants