The use of test chambers for characterising the emissions of volatile organic compounds from indoor building materials.

Increasing interest is attributed to the problem of the accumulation of organic vapours emitted from indoor building materials due to an effective insulation of buildings with low ventilation rates. A measurement technique for determining emission rates using a 1 m3 laminar flow test chamber is described. The aim of this activity is to: get compound-specific data on the emissions of various indoor building materials, provide emission data for the development and verification of models used to predict indoor concentrations and determine the effect of environmental variables as temperature, humidity or air velocity on emission rates. The work of a COST 613 working group leading to a guideline for measurements using test chambers1 was an important step to internationally harmonize analysis and data evaluation methods.