formaldehyde

From a hygienic viewpoint, optimum indoor air quality can be characterized as the complete absence of pollutants. The most important sources of such pollutants are reviewed, including those entering a room from outside, those generated by human activity and those emanating from various materials. Thebasic requirement is for all emissions to be as low as possible. For CO2 and formaldehyde the existing standards are reasonable. For most of the other substances it is not recommended to define tolerable limit values since such definition may decrease the efforts to attain a zero level.

Reviews literature on indoor air quality in housing, nature of contaminants and their sources, health effects, standards and guidelines, impact of air sealing on indoor air quality, sources of uncontrolled air leakage, airtightness and natural ventilation, airtightness of new and existing housing stock, air change in new and existing housing, impact of air sealing on airtightness and ventilation, indoor air quality in tight houses, impact of occupant behaviour on ventilation, measures to improve indoor air quality, identifying problem houses, indoor pollution control strategies, and ventila

A study was conducted in 40 homes in the areas of Oak Ridge and West Knoxville, in the summer and winter months, to quantify concentrations of COx, NOx, particulates, formaldehyde, and radon, as well as selected volatile organic compounds. 

Chemical pollutants and ventilation rate have been measured in newly built energy efficient private dwellings. The samples were taken in the absence of normal human activity in the houses. The data show that the main source of organic pollutants seems to be indoor building materials and furniture. For dust an important source could be the outdoor environment. Formaldehyde was primarily found in houses where chipboard was used while levels of radon daughters was very low in all houses tested.

Indoor pollutant levels in well-insulated houses are being investigated in a 2-year theoretical and experimental study involving the simultaneous measurement of meteorological variables, air exchange and circulation, and energy consumption. This paper describes concentrations of radon, radon progeny, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides observed in two houses over two seasons, summer and fall 1983. Two companion papers provide a perspective on the problem and the study design, and present results of energy use and infiltration measurements.

Notes the contaminants which may be contained in room air - radon, solvents, tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, dust mites etc. Points out that no definitive threshold values have been established for contaminants representing health hazards. Points out that the reactions of various individuals to them differ widely, determined by a number of factors.

Reviews current knowledge about the sources of a number of indoor pollutants and their concentrations: tobacco smoke, NO2, CO, radon, formaldehyde, SO2, CO2, O3, asbestos, mineral fibres, organics and allergens. Lists the adverse health effects from exposure to each of the pollutants. Finds instrumentation for measuring exposure acceptable, but monitoring and knowledge of distribution of sources and concentrations inadequate or marginal. Knowledge of exposure-effects relationship is inadequate, especially with regard to delayed effects of chronic exposures.

As part of an investigation into the influence of a residential weatherization program on indoor air quality and energy efficiency, a multi-pollutant survey of the air inside 50 Wisconsin homes was conducted three times during the heating season

Complaints related to moisture problems in houses which had been air sealed, led to a study of indoor air quality in 20 weatherized demonstration homes in the Cambridge, Ontario area. 

Reducing the air change rate of a house increases the concentration of pollutants in the indoor air. These pollutants are identified and located within the residential structure. Air-to-air heat exchangers are suggested tocontrol ventilation, and the three basic types described.