Introductory talk on the indoor air quality problem. Compares risk of radon pollution in houses to the risks of smoking tobacco, and gives a definition of levels of concern. Mentions filtering of indoor air by means of an air-to-air heat exchanger, the interaction between ventilation and sources, e.g. unvented combustion heaters and carbon dioxide emissions; measurements of nitrogen dioxide are compared, and formaldehyde concentrations in 28 different commercial buildings.
Summary of an APCA International Speciality Conference. Contains information on some relatively unfamiliar trace gases and fungi, as well as on the better known indoor air pollutants. Studies range from those on human health tothose concentrating on pollutant emissions to those addressing building ventilation. Papers also cover sick building syndrome and pollutant and ventilation surveys.
After years of intensive studies on indoor air pollution sources, pollution levels, condensation effects, building airtightness, and air change rates, we are now at the point to discover that no solution whatsoever to the ventilation problem is possible if compatibility with user comfort and user habits are not properly taken into account. User compatibility of aventilation strategy under todays conditions in dwellings must in fact be understood as a requirement equivalent to the purely functional ones of pollutant removal and of economy.
Subjects covered include: problems of radon, formaldehyde build-up in the home, residential indoor air quality, effect of moisture on other pollutants, epidemiology of indoor air problems, setting standards for recognising harmful concentrations in homes, the effect of retrofit conversion measures, thepublic's perspective.
Commercial buildings require mechanical ventilating systems, the specifications for which are included in the building codes. These codes specify the amount of outdoor air to be supplied per person for designed occupancy conditions. Many buildings such as retail establishments operate much of the time at occupancy loads well below the design. Thus, they are generally over ventilated and waste energy when operated according to the codes. A control system based on measurement of the carbon dioxide generated by the occupants was tested in a small bank in Pasco, Washington.
Discusses the interrelationship of home ventilation rates, sources of air contaminants, and the relative quality of the indoor air environment, including: what is an unsafe air quality level? The problem in perspective, common household pollutants, home ventilation, identification and testing.
Provides the text of the 68 papers presented at the symposium, arranged under the following headings - Plenary session, Advanced developments in ventilation, Control of toxic and explosive contaminants, Advances in tracer gas use, Ventilation for residential and modern office buildings, Advances in local exhaust technology, Ventilation for control of carcin- ogens and biohazards, Ventilation measurement and control, Sources emission rates, Filters, Air recirculation and energy conservation.
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