Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in workplace and residential environments has been a concern ofpeople. Recently, Ministry of Environment in Korea has recognized the potential risk on thehealth effects related to indoor air pollution at home. Therefore, the purpose of this study wasto measure the indoor air pollutants of IAQ at different homes and investigate the perceptionof IAQ recognition at home through a questionnaire survey in Seoul.We estimated the IAQ of six selected homes based on site region and housing type.
An experiment was performed to determine whether the sensory pollution emitted from a bagfilter that had been used for 3 months in a suburban area in Denmark was influenced bydifferent ways of operating the air-handling unit (AHU). Samples of the used filter were preconditioned to simulate three operating conditions: (1) switched off overnight; (2) airflowreduced to 10% overnight; and (3) continuous 100% operation. Outside air passed through thesamples and the acceptability of the air after the filter was assessed by a panel of subjects.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of building characteristics on selfreportedproductivity using the Building Assessment Survey Evaluation (BASE) dataset. Ofthe respondents surveyed, 28% reported one or more lost workdays over the last month due tobuilding-related symptoms, and 40% reported reduced ability to work.
A method has been developed to investigate the comfort in office buildings. It is based onboth measurements and a questionnaire. The measurement apparatus, the so-calledAmbiometer, can record both the main comfort parameters, such as temperature, humidity,noise, light and odours, and the occupant's perceived comfort. Information regarding theindoor climate and the working environment is noted on the questionnaire.Experiments were conducted on about 50 offices in France.
The impact of dry indoor air on comfort and health in winter was investigated in a crossoverintervention study in two floors of an office building in northern Sweden. The indoor airhumidity (normally 10-20% RH) was raised to 23-24% RH, one floor at a time, using steamhumidifiers. Questionnaires and objective (clinical) measurements were applied.
We conducted an epidemiological study to examine the associations between indoor climate and office workers’ health and working efficiency. We investigated four office buildings in Massachusetts, USA, beginning May 1997 over 1 year. Ninety-eight participa
The relationship between psychosocial characteristics and sick building syndrome(SBS) was explored among 348 employees occupying two buildings engaged in thepublic sector in Pretoria, South Africa. One building was characterized as sick(building B), whilst the other was not a known sick building (building A).
After moving into a new office building, employees complained about irritation of eyes, sorethroat and unspecific symptoms. A working group was appointed to investigate indoor airpollution.Air samples and floor dust samples for the analysis of organic compounds were collected inoffice rooms. Within 8 months, several measurement campaigns were conducted to assess thetrends of the concentrations of air pollutants.
In some indoor environment surveys, respondents are asked to recall conditions acrossseasons (e.g. to recall summer conditions during a winter survey). This study assessed thereliability of such recall, based on a survey of 728 people in 12 UK office buildings. In bothwinter and summer, the questions addressed both summer and winter conditions, andbuilding-related symptoms. Correlations were calculated between equivalent responses ineach season (e.g. odour in winter, as rated in the summer and winter surveys). The bestcorrelated IAQ questions were those concerning specific smells (e.g.
Sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms were investigated in a laboratory study of low humidity environments: 30 subjects were exposed to clean air at 22C with 5%, 15%, 25% and 35% RH and 30 were exposed to polluted air at 18C, 22C and 26C with a constant moisture content of 2.4 g/kg dry air and at 22C/35%RH. The subjects were exposed to each condition for 5 h and reported the intensity of SBS symptoms. Five hours of exposure to clean air at 5% RH caused only eye symptoms, while 5 h of exposure to polluted dry air at 15% RH aggravated a number of symptoms of the skin, nose, throat and lips.
Login