Decline of VOC Concentrations with the Aging of Houses in Japan

Motoya Hayashi, Haruki Osawa

Department of Healthy Building and Housing, National Institute of Public Health, Wako, Japan.
Department of Life Style and Space Design, Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, Sendai, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.412A1004                

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation is to know the long-term characteristics of VOC concentrations in houses built before the building code in 2003 and to clarify the countermeasures against indoor air pollution in the houses already built. For example, the improvements of living habits, ventilation and the remove of building materials. The concentrations of VOCs were measured in these houses in summer and winter from 2000 to 2005. The results showed that the concentration of formaldehyde decreased in the first year. After that the decline of the concentration was not seen and the concentration changed only with the temperature. The characteristics of decline were thought to be caused by two sorts of emission. One is an emission of concealed formaldehyde in the process of material production and the other is an emission with the generation of formaldehyde from adhesives of urea resin and moisture. The concentration of toluene decreased rapidly in the first year. The concentrations of xylene, ethyl-benzene and styrene showed a similar change. But the concentrations of acetaldehyde which were measured from the summer of 2002 did not decrease and its concentration in some houses was higher than the guideline even in the winter of 2005.

Keywords

Indoor Air Quality; VOC; Passive Sampling; Questionnaire Survey; Statistics Analysis

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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