The effect of ventilation on emission rates of wood finishing materials.

States that emission rate of organic compounds from building materials varies according to the type of material, material loading, compound emitted, temperature, humidity, and ventilation rate. For most materials, the relationship between emission rate and these variables is not available. Describes research with the use of small test chambers aimed at developing data on emission rates from several building materials. Selected results from the studies are presented in this article, with the emphasis on the effect of ventilation and material loading on the emission rate for selected organics and total measured organics. Presents test data for three wood finishing materials: stain, polyurethane and wax, and analyses the data to reveal the effect of ventilation on the material emission characteristics.