Active areas of research in Preventive Conservation are grouped under the following themes:

Themes:

A. Environment – including:

• anoxia
• biological activity
• climate
• lighting and radiations
• pollutants
  • dust
  • industrial pollutants
  • materials used in construction
  • sinks and filters

B. Risk management – including:
 

• methodology
• mitigation
• categorization (of collections / of risk types)
• quantification
• prediction
• dissociation (marking inventory numbers)

C. Physical forces – including:

• building works
• handling, packing, transportation
• modelling
• shocks and vibrations
• mitigation against emergencies

D. Materials – including:

• suitability of materials used in construction
• coatings
• pollutant sinks and filters

E. Strands within each theme include

• sustainability
• tools (IT models, new analysis tools etc)
• sharing and collaboration (e.g. Cultural Heritage Advanced Research Infrastructures: Synergy for a multidisciplinary Approach to conservation – CHARISMA)
• guidelines, standards, and best practice (e.g. CEN TC346 Conservation of cultural property)

These themes are not meant to be exclusive but represent the most active areas of research.