Abstract
This study examined the validity of the sampling time specified in the official method for indoor air testing, considering differences in the emission characteristics of indoor air chemicals. Parallel measurements were conducted in three residential houses, using the official 24-hr sampling method and a cumulative split sampling method consisting six repeated 4-hr samplings. Quantitative consistency between the two methods was generally confirmed for both TVOC and individual VOCs. Emission characteristics were broadly classified into steady-state, temporal, and complex types. For steady-state VOCs detected in this study, representative concentrations could be reasonably evaluated even with 4-hr sampling. In contrast, temporal and complex-types exhibited diurnal variation, and the variations were averaged only through 24-hr sampling, as observed for TVOC. Overall, 24-hr sampling based on the official method was confirmed to be appropriate for comprehensively evaluating VOCs concentrations in indoor air with diverse emission characteristics using a single sampling event.
