ICP Materials

The International Co-operative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Materials, including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) was launched in 1985 with the objective of performing quantitative evaluations of the effect of sulphur and nitrogen compounds and other major pollutants on the atmospheric corrosion of important materials and assessing the trends of corrosion and pollution.

The materials examined include structural metals, stone materials, paint coatings, electric contact materials, samples of mediaeval stained-glass windows, and polymer materials.

The network of about 30 exposure sites across around 18 countries covers a broad band of geographic zones in Europe and North America. The Programme is coordinated by a Task Force under the leadership of Sweden, which provides the Main Research Centre at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

Since 2005, Sweden and Italy (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development – ENEA) are co-chairing the programme. The Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Austria, Spain, France, and Switzerland are responsible for sub-centres, which prepare and distribute specimens of selected materials and evaluate corrosion effects after exposure.

For more information, please visit the ICP Materials website External link, opens in new window..