MOKUZAI HOZON (Wood Protection)

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Information on the VOC emission from various types of timber is useful for devising counter-measures for the Sick Building Syndrome. In this study, we measured the isostatic aerial concentration of thirteen volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, acetaldehydes and total VOCs (TVOC) by a small chamber method (Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) A 1901) using 3 types of glue-line treated plywood. Without curing, the concentrations of all measured compounds were quite low in the 2 types of tropical hardwood plywood registered by the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS), while high concentrations of acetaldehyde and TVOC were observed in Russian larch plywood registered by the Approved Quality (AQ). The origin of acetaldehyde was considered to be the larch plywood, because both the untreated larch plywood and the AQ plywood emit-ted almost same amount of acetaldehyde. However, since less TVOC was detected from the untreated larch plywood than the AQ plywood, the high concentration of TVOC in the AQ plywood was due to the solvents of preservatives. After 21 day-curing, the concentration of each chemical had greatly decreased, suggesting that the curing was effective in reducing the indoor air contaminants. It was concluded that the emission of VOCs and aldehydes from treated plywood depended on the wood species of veneer, glue type and/or the solvent of preservatives, and that the necessity of the curing before use was recommended.

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