The air pollution has a contribution to the degradation of surfaces of historical buildings and
monuments [1]. The impact of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere on materials is enormous and often
irreversible. Corrosion caused by chemicals and soiling caused by particles can lead to economic losses
but, more importantly, to the destruction of our cultural heritage, degradation of the public spaces,
infrastructures and facilities [2]. Moreover, the effects of the air pollution in façades and on the structural
systems lead to unexpected costs for the buildings maintenance. So, these effects must be monitored and
assessed for making possible to act in time for minimizing or eliminating the adverse effects and the
unexpected costs over the cultural heritage to preserve the identity and memorial value.
Domestic and industrial sources but mainly road traffic sources are the principal sources of emissions
of air pollution in cities, which affect directly the quality of life, infrastructures and spaces in urban areas.
Several studies of materials have indicated that atmospheric corrosion influenced by acidifying pollutants
is costly. Extensive damage has also been observed on historical and cultural structures and monuments
calcareous stones, medieval glass and metals. Therefore, evaluating and monitoring the urban
environment quality inside the urban areas becomes very important to the urban heritage conservation
through the creation of the new environmental policies to minimize and control the air pollution
consequences over the urban spaces [1,2,3].
This work presents a methodology to evaluate, on a regular basis, the potential impact of atmospheric
pollution on monuments. It uses a monitoring system to collect samples of particulate matter and then
analyzes its composition and assesses the degree of risk of degradation. This study is being applied in the
Portuguese midsized city of Vila Real where the urban pollution assessment and their effects in urban
infrastructures was considered the main goal.
For the development of the project, two systems have been created: A website for the acquisition and
the storing of the data; and a technological solution for the data acquisition constituted by one mobile unit
of measurement. The mobile unit of measurement is equipped with an air particulate matter
monitor/collector (PM10 and PM2.5), a meteorological station, and communication and positioning
devices. The devices are connected with the router installed inside the mobile unit that is connected with a
database.