Study of marble deterioration at City Hall, Schenectady, New York
Constructed in 1930 at a cost of over one million dollars, the City Hall in Schenectady, New York, is listed in the U.S. Register of Historical Buildings. The masonry materials were the finest available at the time of construction; granite, fire hardened exterior brick and Vermont marble - Imperical Danby, an equivalent to Carrara marble from Italy. It is known today that the lack of impurities in the Imperial Danby leads to weak crystalline properties. Cleaned with water, sponges and stiff brushes upon completion of construction, the exterior was not cleaned over a fifty-year period. The research indicated that the marble grains are being structurally weakened by a chemical conversion process of marble to gypsum crystals. The surface zone of chemical activity (2-5 mm) shows the presence of fly ash and iron particles and points to the possibility of a catalytic mechanism for the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate. This research has established symptoms which are consistent with prior reported research into building material deterioration. However, the results presented are not supportive of one mechanism over another.
- Research Organization:
- State Univ. of New York, Albany
- OSTI ID:
- 6867960
- Journal Information:
- J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States), Vol. 34:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
AIR POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
MARBLE
BUILDING MATERIALS
CATALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
FLY ASH
IRON
PARTICLES
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
SULFATES
SULFUR
AEROSOL WASTES
ASHES
BUILDINGS
ELEMENTS
MATERIALS
METALS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
ROCKS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
WASTES
500200* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)