Building Materials as Potential Emission Sources of VOC in the Indoor Environment of Buildings

Abstract

People spend most of their time in various indoor spaces and their health is exposed to different kinds of air pollutants. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) belong to a group of chemical substances polluting the indoor environment. They come into the interior of buildings mainly from internal sources in the form of building materials, flooring, composite wood products, adhesives and other consumer products. Their presence in indoor air is monitored, due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects on human health. Many studies of indoor environment contaminated by VOC have been published during the last years. The present study provides general overview of the occurrence and emission sources of VOCs in the indoor environment of different types of buildings. The most frequently monitored indoor organic pollutants in terms of their occurrence and health risk are BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes), terpenes (α-pinene and d-limonene) and aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde). Their concentrations in different indoor environments are variable and depend on factors such as emission characteristics of sources, microclimatic and ventilation conditions. Formaldehyde and toluene levels increased significantly with increasing room temperature. Benzene enters the indoor environment of buildings from external sources, especially from traffic or industrial areas. Formaldehyde, α-pinene and d-limonene originate from indoor sources as a part of building materials, furniture and household products.

Human exposure to air contaminants in sports environments

“…The general outdoor and indoor sources as well as parameters affecting the concentrations of all those contaminants are already well known (see eg, references for: CO, 19,20 NO 2 , [20][21][22][23] PM, [24][25][26][27][28] UFP, [29][30][31][32][33][34][35] VOC, [36][37][38][39][40][41] HCHO, 20 O 3 , 21,42 bioparticles 43 ). There are also many international reports by WHO 20,21,44 as well as epidemiological and other studies summarizing and showing a scientific evidence of several possible health effects of those contaminants (see eg, references for CO, 20,44 NO 2 , 20,[45][46][47][48][49] PM, 28,50,51 UFP, 52,53 DBP, 35,[54][55][56][57] VOC, [36]…”

“…The general outdoor and indoor sources as well as parameters affecting the concentrations of all those contaminants are already well known (see eg, references for: CO, 19,20 NO 2 , 20‐23 PM, 24‐28 UFP, 29‐35 VOC, 36‐41 HCHO, 20 O 3 , 21,42 bioparticles 43 ). There are also many international reports by WHO 20,21,44 as well as epidemiological and other studies summarizing and showing a scientific evidence of several possible health effects of those contaminants (see eg, references for CO, 20,44 NO 2 , 20,45‐49 PM, 28,50,51 UFP, 52,53 DBP, 35,54‐57 VOC, 36‐40,58 HCHO, 20,35,59 O 3 , 42,60,61 bioparticles 43,44,62‐64 ). However, the knowledge of the exposure to these pollutants in different sports facilities is very scattered and limited.…”

The conditions data model supporting building information models in facility management

“…Besides the CO2 produced by respiration, IAQ is reduced by emissions from the building, furniture, equipment and people (Korhonen, 2011;Rivas et al, 2019;Guo et al, 2020;Harčárová et al, 2020). Human action, upholstery materials and cigarette smoke also affect the quality of indoor conditions.…”

Source apportionment and health risk assessment of indoor volatile organic compounds

“…The reaction product is one of the sources of VOCs. Katarína Harčárová et al 16 found indoor sources of VOCs mainly include building materials, flooring, composite wood products, adhesives and other consumer products. Factors that can affect types and concentrations of indoor VOCs include the number of occupants, interior decorations, relative humidity, building age and location, the extent of air pollution, ventilation intensity, season and the type of heat source, etc.…”