Chemical and Biological Evaluation of Building Material Emissions. II. Approaches for Setting Indoor Air Standards or Guidelines for Chemicals

Njelsen, Gunnar Damgard; Hansen, Lea Frimann; Wolkoff, Peder

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1997.t01-3-00004.x

Cited by 53 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Two isomers of 2,4,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentandiol mono-isobutyrate. Critical indoor value from Nielsen et al (1997a).…”

Section: Sensory Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the emitted VOCs may affect the perception of the indoor air quality, e.g. in the form of odor nuisance, eye and airway irritation (Bluyssen et al, 1996;Nielsen et al, 1997a). Consequently, methods need to be developed to characterize the emissions from building products in sensory and chemical terms in order to understand their impact on perceived air quality and to assess potential health risks (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sensory and chemical characterization of VOC emissions from building products: impact of concentration and air velocity

Knudsen¹,

Kjær²,

Nielsen³

et al. 1999

Atmospheric Environment

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The emissions from five commonly used building products were studied in small-scale test chambers over a period of 50 days. The odor intensity was assessed by a sensory panel and the concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of concern for the indoor air quality were measured. The building products were three floor coverings: PVC, floor varnish on beechwood parquet and nylon carpet on a latex foam backing; an acrylic sealant, and a waterborne wall paint on gypsum board. The impacts of the VOC concentration in the air and the air velocity over the building products on the odor intensity and on the emission rate of VOCs were studied. The emission from each building product was studied under two or three different area-specific ventilation rates, i.e. different ratios of ventilation rate of the test chamber and building product area in the test chamber. The air velocity over the building product samples was adjusted to different levels between 0.1 and 0.3 m s\. The origin of the emitted VOCs was assessed in order to distinguish between primary and secondary emissions. The results show that it is reasonable after an initial period of up to 14 days to consider the emission rate of VOCs of primary origin from most building products as being independent of the concentration and of the air velocity. However, if the building product surface is sensitive to oxidative degradation, increased air velocity may result in increased secondary emissions. The odor intensity of the emissions from the building products only decayed modestly over time. Consequently, it is recommended to use building products which have a low impact on the perceived air quality from the moment they are applied. The odor indices (i.e. concentration divided by odor threshold) of primary VOCs decayed markedly faster than the corresponding odor intensities. This indicates that the secondary emissions rather than the primary emissions, are likely to affect the perceived air quality in the long run. Some of the building products continued to affect the perceived air quality despite the concentrations of the selected VOCs resulted in odor indices less than 0.1. Therefore, odor indices less than 0.1 as an accept criterion cannot guarantee that a building product has no impact on the perceived air quality.

show abstract

“…Two isomers of 2,4,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentandiol mono-isobutyrate. Critical indoor value from Nielsen et al (1997a).…”

Section: Sensory Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory and chemical characterization of VOC emissions from building products: impact of concentration and air velocity

Knudsen¹,

Kjær²,

Nielsen³

et al. 1999

Atmospheric Environment

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…First, the effects of gases and vapours emitted by moulds should be considered. They can be evaluated by established procedures (Nielsen et al 1997c) used to set guideline values for indoor air exposures. New ultrasensitive analytical methods for airborn mycotoxins should be developed and animal exposure effects evaluated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Respiratory Effects in Mice Exposed to Airborne Emissions fromStachybotrys chartarumand Implications for Risk Assessment

Wilkins

Larsen²,

Hammer³

et al. 1998

Pharmacology & Toxicology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stachybotrys charfarum, a mycotoxin producing mould found in some damp buildings, was grown in aluminum dishes in closed exposure chambers. The loading factor, 5.12 m2/m3, corresponded to 2.8 times the loading in a normal room with all surfaces covered by mould. Sensory irritation, bronchoconstriction and pulmonary irritation effects were investigated using a sensitive mouse bioassay in which the airway reactions were measured plethysmographically. Little effect was seen from the vapours in agreement with the predicted effects of the low concentrations of volatile organic compounds measured. Even under the influence of an airflow about four times that measured in normal buildings, the concentration of liberated spores and other particles was very low, corresponding to the biological effects observed, and probably reflecting the high water content of the substrate. These results demonstrate that many factors are important for the transport of biologically active mould metabolites from building material to occupants and that no direct relationship may exist between immediate biological effects and surface area covered with mould. Therefore, risk assessments should be based on estimated effects of emitted vapours, effects of liberated particles, e.g. sensitization potentials of the mould spores and effects of the generated metabolites (mycotoxins).

show abstract

“…Some VOCs may produce an odor nuisance which may affect the perception of the indoor air quality by people [66][67][68][69]. Therefore a sensory test isappliedin some labeling schemes.…”

Section: Technical Partmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor decorating and refurbishing materials and furniture volatile organic compounds emission labeling systems: A review

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted from indoor decorating and refurbishing materials and furniture is recognized as one of the main causes of bad indoor air quality, which has resulted in serious economic losses. In European countries and the U.S., labeling systems for indoor decorating and refurbishing materials and furniture were established to address this issue with good effect. This paper is a review of these existing labeling systems. The basic principle of the labeling systems is introduced. The technical, policy and operational parts of the labeling systems are then discussed. The research concentrates on target pollutants, their threshold values and the testing methods employed. Some problems were uncovered in these labeling systems: too many VOCs were targeted; the method to determine the threshold values was not very rigorous; the testing time was too long (7-28 d). Some China's special features in developing such system are stated. Therefore, as the world's largest national producer and consumer of wood based panels and furniture, China should learn from foreign experience of establishing labeling systems as much as it can. However China should not simply copy the foreign approaches but develop its own scientific labeling system for indoor decorating and refurbishing materials and furniture.

show abstract

Chemical and Biological Evaluation of Building Material Emissions. II. Approaches for Setting Indoor Air Standards or Guidelines for Chemicals

Cited by 53 publications

References 66 publications

Sensory and chemical characterization of VOC emissions from building products: impact of concentration and air velocity

Sensory and chemical characterization of VOC emissions from building products: impact of concentration and air velocity

Respiratory Effects in Mice Exposed to Airborne Emissions fromStachybotrys chartarumand Implications for Risk Assessment

Indoor decorating and refurbishing materials and furniture volatile organic compounds emission labeling systems: A review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About