Experience of the concentration of formaldehyde in indoor air in newly built schools. Erfahrungen uber Formaldehyd-Raumluftkonzentrationen in Schulneubauten.

Reports measurements of formaldehyde in four newly-built schools. In one school, one year after opening during the hot summer of 1976, concentrations of formaldehyde between 0.3 and 0.9ppm were measured. In another school the average concentration for almost all rooms was over the maximum for working places of 1ppm. The cause was emanation from ceiling and furniture and concentration depended on humidity, temperature and ventilation rate. Finds that painting on a compound which binds to formldehyde reduced concentration by 60-70% and 4 to 6 weeks after application the concentration was 50-60%. Finds that investigation of the emanation of formaldehyde from ceiling and furniture boards by the perforator method gave no unequivocal evidence on what the room concentration would be.