English

The Austrian Standard ÖNORM S 5200, prepared in the early nineties after a prestandard phase (Steger F.) and in use in Austria since 1996, provides the criteria to assess the radiation dose of building materials. Gamma radiation of the radionuclides 40K,

There is a currently growing interest in the effect of exposure to 222Rn, because it became recognised as an important “pollutant” factor of the environment. Possible lung cancer incidence due to exposure to environmental radon levels may thus account for

This paper starts with a short explanation of how sick buildings and mould were, brought to the focus of the general public in 1993. The media have played a major role in publicizing problems with dampand run-down buildings. Due to this massive media bombardment the general public in Denmark is,compared to the rest of Europe, well aware that damp buildings are not good for your health! Several new ideas regarding mould removal without chemicals and rapid testing techniques have been invented during this period.

High standards of airtightness for building envelopes protect occupants against common outdoor air pollutants - especially pollen and mildew spores that occur seasonally in high concentrations and can penetrate indoor spaces. For nitrogen dioxide and ozone, too, for which there are spatial and temporal concentration peaks, airtightness can achieve significant protective effects for indoor spaces. With regard to outdoor air-influenced indoor particulate pollution, lesser but still significant effects can be achieved with an airtight building envelope.

The importance of an airtight building envelope will, with growing awareness of energy efficiency in all European countries, continue to increase. Experience with testing small detached or two-unit houses is available in most countries. An English-language literature source on Measuring the airtightness of buildings has been compiled by ATTMA (Technical Standard)[1] and BSRIA BG 11/2004.2 [2].

For preselected totals of dwelling houses this article describes how statisticalprocedures on basis of small samples can be transferred into the prognosis whether the tolerable upper limit of airtighness is fulfilled or not. Necessary requirements on both sides are discussed - quality assurance during production of dwelling houses and mathematical correct treatment of measurements according to EN/DIN 13829. All formulas needed are given as appendix. For a better understanding of the difference between Gauss- und Student-t-distribution examples are given.

According to the recent conclusions of the 'Grenelle de l’Environnement', the energy performance of buildings has become very recently a major concern in France. As a matter of fact, building’s airtightness is now explicitly considered as one of the two levers, with thermal bridges, that will lead French buildings toward higher energy efficiency constructions. Indeed, what used to be a confidential issue a few months ago has now become a real subject that French professionals thoroughly take into account.

Every building must be airtight, and this airtightness is guaranteed by the building envelope.The necessary air change does not happen through the building envelope but through specific measures such as an air intake and extraction plant with heat recovery .Airtightness is achieved through installation of an airtight layer.The architect is obliged to devise and airtightness concept in collaboration with specialist planners, in which the airtight layer should as far as possible be positioned at one level of the building envelope and should not be pierced.Arrangement of the other layers shoul

Good envelope airtightness is a prerequisite for energy efficiency and effective ventilation of buildings. Through the implementation of specific national requirements, airtightness has evolved positively in many countries, while the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings and its associated CEN standards are expected to bring further improvements. However, Member States address the issue very differently in their national regulation.

At the start of the measurements, the airtightness of the box was determined, achieving an n50 value of 0.79. Then the airtightness was progressively worsened by drilling (small holes, diameter of 12 / 25 mm and larger openings, diameter 100 mm) and the soundproofing quality of the roof measured. Airtightness was steadily reduced from n50=0.79 to 5.8. Summarised, the following scenario emerged: - Initially the roof with good soundproofing had approx. 46 dB soundproofing (Dls,2m,nT,w).