This is an award to provide renewal support for research that was conducted under NSF Grant No. 85-14832 results of which established the surface rate corrosion constants and effective diffusion coefficients for several types of marble when exposed to concentrated levels of sulfur dioxide in air. The objective of this renewal project is to continue a study of the conditions under which marble deteriorates when subjected to sulfurous and nitrogenous atmospheric pollutants, both categories of which are produced by combustion of fossil fuels. The investigator is determining the composition of crusts formed on marble exposed to air pollutants under laboratory conditions and comparing them with natural crusts obtained from locations in the U.S. that are subjected to high levels of atmospheric pollution. This research is likely to lead to a better understanding than now exists of the role played by air pollutants in accelerating the deterioration of materials and structures that are exposed to air pollutants. This knowledge is likely to be applied in engineering design for minimizing the effects of air pollutants on structures that are subjected to air pollutants from combustion processes and to establish the value of pollution abatement measures in comparison with the cost of structural deterioration from exposure to air pollutants.
