Abstract
Formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which emit from building materials (such as wall materials, ceiling materials, floor materials and adhesive agents) in houses or buildings, are suspected to be toxic to humans. The objectives of our study are to collect time series data of the indoor concentrations of formaldehyde and VOCs in a newly-built brick house and to compare the spot sampling and analytical methods (VOCs: TenaxTA-GC/MS; formaldehyde: XPoSure-HPLC) and a multi-gas-monitor method. Our newly-built house has a natural air circulation system with a brick exterior surface, and was not treated with bake-out. The basic structural building materials and adhesive agents used in the house contain no formaldehyde. However, the materials that are typically available on the market were used for the walls (10 items), ceilings (10 items) and the floors (2 items). The survey of indoor air quality was conducted from June 1998 until December 1998. The results obtained in the spot sampling and analytical methods showed that the concentrations of indoor formaldehyde and total-VOCs (the values converted to toluene-equivalent concentration) reached 0.171μg/m3(0.141 ppm) and 5,830μg/m3, respectively, right after the interior wood finishing work was done. The concentrations of both formaldehyde and VOCs decreased with time approximately to the initial level in five months after the finishing woodwork. Two months after the finishing woodwork was done, the indoor formaldehyde and total-VOCs concentrations were monitored for 24 hours with a closed condition following a ventilation with windows and doors opened. The 24-hour monitoring data confirmed that formaldehyde and VOCs were still emitted from the interior surface. The statistically significant positive correlation was examined between the values of formaldehyde and total-VOCs obtained by the spot sampling and analytical methods and those by the multi-gas-monitor.
