IAQ in office buildings located in the north and in the south of Italy

An investigation method based on the HACCP system was applied to eleven representativeoffice buildings with HVAC system located in different latitudes in Italy, to evaluate themicrobiological quality of the air supplied. Bacterial and fungal levels near supply airdiffusers pointed out medium-low contamination and analysis of data showed a highermicrobial load in the buildings located in the South of Italy with respect to those in the North.IAQ of five buildings was examined in more detail. Air samples demonstrated an overallgood microbial removal efficiency of the examined HVAC system.

IAQ at two vocational institutes in Hong Kong

Since the initiative by the government in 1999, indoor air quality (IAQ) has received attentionfrom the community at large in Hong Kong and the education sector has also been activelymonitoring IAQ in line with the proposed objectives. This paper reports the finding of an IAQstudy conducted in 2002 at two vocational education institutes. It begins with a brief review ofIAQ development in the education sector. An outline of the site inspection, the IAQ objectivesand the equipment used in the study then follows.

IAQ evaluation of educational buildings

The paper presents the first and the second phases of a work in progress aimed to prepare aguide for the IAQ evaluation of the real estate of the Politecnico di Milano University, intended for the technicians of the university building department.The overall work is structured in four phases: (1) census and classification of theconstruction and technical features of the buildings; (2) preparation of a check-list for thedetection of hazards based on homogeneous category of building; (3) monitoring ofrepresentative building of the Politecnico real estate; (4) proposal of techniques and materi

Indoor air quality in two different commercial buildings: Part 1: ventilation, temperature, humidity of air and gas concentrations

The main objective of this study was to investigate the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in officebuildings and to understand better how HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning)systems work and what their effects are on IAQ over a sustained period. Two Frenchcommercial buildings were chosen, located in urban areas of Lyon and Paris, and for one daya month, over the course of 1 year, a number of IAQ related variables were recorded bothinside, including the HVAC system, and outside the buildings.

Quality assessment in building investigations

IAQ investigators have a responsibility to give correct advice to the client. In cases with mould growth, the question of people’s health is often involved. Economical aspects can also be considerable due to the high costs of necessary actions during and

Setting indoor air guidelines in Austria

Public health services are increasingly confronted with inquiries from the public concerningindoor air pollution. But so far no standardized procedures have been applied by authoritiesand experts in this field.

Recommendations for establishing target values and guidance values for volatile organic compounds (VOC) in indoor air

Toxicologically derived guidelines for the evaluation of VOC concentrations are still sparse.Therefore a schema is proposed for establishing target or intervention values which includesfollowing basics: i) Guidelines are derived from statistical values of representative studies. ii)Guidelines should refer to standardized analytical methods. iii) Guidelines should exist for allvolatile indoor air contaminants. iv) Possibility of dynamic adaptation, if the VOC mixturechanges. v) Up-to-dateness. vi) TVOC concept and values for groups of VOC should beincluded.

Striving for excellent indoor air quality - the Hong Kong experience

To promote good indoor air quality (IAQ) and public awareness of its importance, theHKSAR Government has implemented an Indoor Air Quality Management Programme since2000. This paper gives an overview of the programme and the progress made to date. It alsogives a brief account of the voluntary Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for Offices andPublic Places promulgated by the government in September 2003, to promote and recognizegood IAQ management practices in these buildings.

Performance criteria for healthy buildings: target values for some indoor air quality parameters

The scope of this paper is the definition of some indoor air quality health-based criteria forhealthy buildings. One possible approach to establish indoor air quality health-based criteriacould be to define target values of a set of measurable parameters (chemical, physical andbiological) related to health. Target values to assess the parameters are set according to fullexposure (e.g. WHO guidelines, 24 h all people) or partial exposure (e.g., EPA guidelines, 8 haverage adult).

Emissions from construction materials. Results from the National ‘Healthy Building’ Programme

The Healthy Building Technology Programme was established in Finland to abolish thefactors causing building related problems as it was clearly seen that deficiencies in indoor airhad an economical importance even at the national level (Rantama, 2003).

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