The guideline and target values for total volatile organic compound concentrations in industrial indoor environments in Finland

Abstract

As an indicator of general indoor air quality in industrial facilities, the concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were determined in the workplaces of 37 industry sectors during the years of 2006-2011. For comparison, the TVOC levels in office-type workplaces were also determined. Based on the results, the TVOC target and guideline values are proposed for industrial workplaces. The geometric mean and median concentrations in the industrial workplaces were 778 and 845 mg/m 3 , respectively, while the 90th, 25th percentiles were, respectively, 6616 and 270 mg/m 3 . In the office-type environments, the geometric mean and median concentrations were 55 and 50 mg/m 3 , and the 90th and 25th percentiles were 230 and 27 mg/m 3 . Based on the measured TVOC distributions and the target values previously set, we propose a TVOC target value of 300 mg/m 3 and guideline value of 3000 mg/m 3 for the general indoor air in industrial workplaces. The concentration of 3000 mg/m 3 could be achieved with reasonable measures by most industry sectors, but does not guarantee that the inhalation exposure to volatile organic compounds in the occupational environments is free from health concerns or perceived discomfort. Therefore, when reasonably achievable, a TVOC concentration close to or below the target value is recommended. This would make the TVOC levels in industrial facilities similar to those in the non-occupational indoor environments.

Occupational exposure to gaseous and particulate contaminants originating from additive manufacturing of liquid, powdered, and filament plastic materials and related post-processes

“…The magnitude of VOC concentrations released from additive manufacturing processes ranged from below the target TVOC value of ≤300 µg/m 3 (value set to represent situation with no VOC contamination) to past the guideline value of A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t ≥3000 µg/m 3 (value set to present situation with VOC contamination which should be evaluated and adjusted), when TVOC limit proposals suggested in Finland are used. (21) Formaldehyde was detected in low concentrations, when compared to suggested occupational exposure limit value of 100 µg/m 3 during manufacturing with all methods and materials, except in MJ method when no formaldehyde was detected. (22) Particle concentrations and indoor air quality parameter variations of additive manufacturing processes are presented in Table 4.…”

“…The used glue was found to emit notable amounts of propylene glycol and [2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl] acetate, which were present in every printing process (Supplemental Tables 1-4). Still, VOC concentrations were low when compared to occupational TVOC levels (21) during printing but slightly increased when compared to the background concentrations of 108 µg/m 3 and 48 µg/m 3…”

“…As summarized in Supplemental Table 8, the dominant compounds detected during VP manufacturing were methyl methacrylate (27-136 µg/m 3 ), 2-butenoic acid methyl ester (55-63 µg/m 3 ) and 4-methyl-2-pentanone (3-76 µg/m 3 ). TVOC concentration was at slightly elevated level (21) at the beginning of the manufacturing process when BEGO Varseo machine was operated, but the concentration reduced over the manufacturing period to the background level, which was 218 µg/m 3 .…”

“…Contaminants originated from vat photopolymerization method were mostly VOCs (Table 3) and particles (Table 4), while formaldehyde was detected in low concentrations as well. (22) Albeit TVOC concentrations were at low levels, (21) certain potentially harmful chemicals were detected, in addition to reduction of TVOC concentration over time when BEGO Varseo machine was operated. On the other hand, post-processing of VP objects was found to be a significant VOC source, with TVOC concentration reaching up to 20 times the TVOC concentration of the manufacturing process.…”

Solvent-Free Toner Printing of Organic Semiconductor Layer in Flexible Thin-Film Transistors

“…Because many solvents for printed electronics have disadvantages, such as flammability, toxicity, and carcinogenicity, their use is regulated by international emission regulations [12,13]. The emission of not only the solvents but also their vapors is difficult to regulate because the emission sources are widely dispersed from small offices to large factories; therefore, atmospheric pollution due to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a worldwide issue [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. VOCs in the atmosphere generate photochemical smog through photochemical reactions that occur under ultraviolet light irradiation.…”