Assessment of Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds in New and Sick Houses Indoor Environments

  • Moon, Kyong-Whan (Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Korea University) ;
  • Byeon, Sang-Hoon (Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Korea University) ;
  • Choi, Dal-Woong (Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Korea University) ;
  • Kim, Young-Whan (Department of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Korea University) ;
  • Lee, Jang-Hee (Environmental Health Research Center, College of Health Sciences, Korea University) ;
  • Lee, Eun-Il (Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University)
  • Published : 2005.06.03

Abstract

32 Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) were measured by thermal desorption/gas chrornatography/mass spectrometry in normal houses, new and sick houses. The sum concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons in living room of new and sick houses showed 606 ${\mu}g/m^3$ and 645 ${\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, These figures were about 40 times higher than the values 14 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in normal houses. Among the chlorinated hydrocarbons trichloroethylene in the new and sick houses were at least 50-100 times higher than the mean concentrations in normal houses. But no significant differences could be shown for the concentration of VOCs in indoor air between new houses and sick houses (p<0.05).

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