Dust obscuration of the narrow line region of active galactic nuclei

To estimate the dust absorption of the Narrow Line Region (NLR) of AGN, we have compared the infrared [NeIII] 15.55 μm line and optical [OIII] 5007 Å line fluxes of 59 galaxies having SDSS and IRS low and high resolution spectra. Dividing our objects into objects with infrared spectra showing silicate feature at 9.7 μm in absorption, in emission, and without this feature in their spectra, we determined that ~87 % of the emission from the NLR for objects with silicate absorption is absorbed by the dusty torus surrounding the AGN.