In 1967, Toishi and Kenjo first indicated the effect of new concrete on painting materials. They demonstrated that air in a new concrete building is alkaline and that a film of linseed oil becomes dark in that atmosphere. Since then, research has been conducted in Japan mainly by them and also by Kurosaka. As it is strongly recommended by the agency of cultural affairs (Bunkacho) to reduce alkalinity in a museum to a certain level before its opening, this is a subject of deep concern for construction as well as for people working in museums. Detailed new studies have been conducted recently and are reviewed in this report from the following viewpoints: 1) the effects of alkalinity on art materials; 2) the causes of alkalinity; 3) the methods of evaluating damage risks; and 4) countermeasures. The first conclusion of this review is that a highly susceptible material quantitatively related to alkalinity should be chosen to evaluate the effect and the danger of an alkaline atmosphere. The second is that the effect of a small amount of ammonia gas in air on art materials should be studied more, because ammonia gas has been suspected as the probable cause of alkalinity in recent studies. The authors also point out a problem that might be caused by rapid drying of concrete. Various small alkaline particles are released easily from the concrete surface to the atmosphere during the drying process and, even worse, concrete loses its strength if excessively dried. Such extreme dehumidifying is occasionally done to reduce alkalinity in a newly constructed museum building so that the museum may be opened according to a fixed schedule.