Vatican museums director Antonio Paolucci is concerned the dust brought in by tourists might damage the artwork in the Sistine Chapel, shown in this April 16, 2005, photo. (Pier Paolo Cito/Canadian Press)

The dust brought in by tourists may cause "serious damage" to Michelangelo's The Last Judgment and other artwork in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican museums director Antonio Paolucci said Thursday.

The damage was first detected on The Last Judgment and nine scenes from the Book of Genesis during dusting this summer, the Agence France-Presse says.

Paolucci told Italian newspaper La Repubblica the famous church will be using techniques such as temperature control to protect works by Michelangelo, Botticelli and other artists from the outside elements brought in by guests.

"In this chapel, people often invoke the Holy Spirit, but the people who fill this room every day aren't pure spirits," Paolucci said.

"Such a crowd ... emanates sweat, breath, carbon dioxide, all sorts of dust. This deadly combination is moved around by winds and ends up on the walls, meaning on the artwork."

The Sistine Chapel gets 15,000 to 20,000 visitors a day, approximately four million a year.

Restorative techniques are already being implemented at Santa Maria delle Grazie, the Milan convent that houses Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Visitors have to walk through a filtration system before viewing the painting.

This procedure limits the number of people who can view The Last Supper, allowing only 25 guests to enter per 15-minute period.

Paolucci is not willing to take that step. "[That] would not be right," he told the AFP.

"The means offered today by science and technology are potentially endless," Paolucci said. "The money, we will find it. No one shirks for the Sistine Chapel."

The art of the Sistine Chapel was previously restored in the 1990s. That preservation project cause controversy as it tampered with the colouration of the classic pieces.

With files from The Associated Press