DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Distributional Characteristics of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Indoor Air of Various Office Environments

다양한 사무실 실내환경에서의 휘발성유기화합물의 농도분포 특성

  • Baek, Sung-Ok (Department of Environmental Engineering, Yeungnam University) ;
  • Jeon, Chan-Gon (Department of Environmental Engineering, Yeungnam University)
  • 백성옥 (영남대학교 환경공학과 대기환경연구실) ;
  • 전찬곤 (영남대학교 환경공학과 대기환경연구실)
  • Received : 2014.08.14
  • Accepted : 2014.09.26
  • Published : 2014.10.31

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the concentration variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the office environments located in a large urban area with respect to seasonality, smoking status, types of ventilation and heating. Indoor air sampling was undertaken in 37 and 30 offices in Daegu city during summer and winter, respectively. The VOC samples were collected using adsorbent tubes, and were determined by thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS analysis. The analytical method was validated for repeatability, method detection limits (MDL), and duplication precision. A total of 34 VOCs of environmental concern were determined, including 15 aromatics and 19 halogenated hydrocarbons. Average concentrations of BTEX appeared to 1.91 ppb, 22.98 ppb, 3.44 ppb, and 3.70 ppb, respectively. These values were relatively higher levels than those measured at homes and outdoor roadsides reported by other researches. In general, the concentrations of VOCs were higher in winter than summer, in smoking offices than non-smoking offices, in forced ventilation type than natural ventilation type, and in combustion heating than non-combustion heating offices. However, such differences were not always significant at a level of 0.05 by statistical tests (t-test and/or Mann-Whitney test) with some exceptions for BTEX and styrene. This study demonstrated that smoking status, ventilation type and presence of combustion sources indoors could be important factors on the elevated concentrations of some VOCs in the office environment.

Keywords

References

  1. Baek, S.O. (1999) Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-environmental implications. J. Kor. Soc. Atmos. Environ., 15(5), 525-544.
  2. Baek, S.O., H.B. Song, D.C. Shin, S.H. Hong, and H.S. Chang (1998) Seasonal and locational concentrations of particulate air pollutants in indoor air of public facilities in Taegu area, J. Kor. Air Pollution Res. Assoc., 14(3), 163-175. (in Korean with English abstract)
  3. Baek, S.O., B.K. Kim, and S.K. Park (2002) Characteristics of atmospheric concentrations of toxic volatile organic compounds in Korea (II)-seasonal and locational variations, Kor. J. Environ. Toxicol., 17(3), 207-217. (in Korean with English abstract)
  4. Baek, S.O., M.H. Kim, S.H. Kim, and S.G. Park (2002) Characteristics of atmospheric concentrations of toxic volatile organic compounds in Korea (I)-evaluation of sampling and analytical methodology, Kor. J. Environ. Toxicol., 17(2), 95-107. (in Korean with English abstract)
  5. Baek, S.O. and R.A. Jenkins (2004) Characterization of trace organic compounds associated with aged and diluted sidestream tobacco smoke in a controlled atmosphere-volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Atmos. Environ., 38, 6583-6599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.08.016
  6. Baek, S.O. and R.A. Jenkins (2001) Performance evaluation of simultaneous monitoring of personal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and volatile organic compounds, Indoor and Built Environ., 10, 200-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X0101000313
  7. Baek, S.O. and S.G. Park (2004) Measurement of environmental tobacco smoke in the air of offices in urban areasfocusing on the impact of smoking on the concentrations of suspended particles, J. Kor. Soc. Atmos. Environ., 20(6), 715-727. (in Korean with English abstract)
  8. Baek, S.O., S.M. Hwang, S.G. Park, S.J. Jeon, B.J. Kim, and G.S. Heo (1999a) Evaluation of methodology for the measurement of volatile organic compounds using adsorption sampling coupled with thermal desorption and GC/MS, J. Kor. Soc. Atmos. Environ., 15(2), 121-138. (in Korean with English abstract)
  9. Baek, S.O., Y.J. Hwang, Y.M. Kim, S.M. Hwang, S.G. Park, and H.B. Song (1999b) Characterization of indoor air quality at the public places in Taegu area-focusing on volatile organic compounds, J. Kor. Soc. Environ. Eng., 21(5), 869-885. (in Korean with English abstract)
  10. Baek, S.O., Y.S. Kim, and R. Perry (1997) Indoor air quality in homes, offices, and restaurants in Korean urban areas-indoor/outdoor relationships, Atmos. Environ., 31, 529-544. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(96)00215-4
  11. Berg, D.W. (1993) Indoor Air Quality and HVAC Systems, Lewis Pub., 220 pp.
  12. Daisey, J.M., A.T. Hodgson, W.J. Fisk, M.J. Mendell, and J. Ten Brinke (1994) Volatile organic compounds in twelve California office buildings: classes, concentration, and sources, Atmos. Environ., 28, 3557-3562. https://doi.org/10.1016/1352-2310(94)00200-5
  13. Jenkins, R.A., A. Palausky, R.W. Counts, C.K. Bayne, A.B. Dindal, and M.R. Guerin (1996) Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in sixteen cities in the United States as determined by personal breathing zone air sampling. J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidemio., 6, 473-502.
  14. Kim, K.S., H.S. Lee, S.Y. Gong, and H.J. Ku (2001) Public Survey for Indoor Air Pollution and Management Policy Study, Report to Korean Environmental Institute, KEI/2002/RE-07, 70 pp.
  15. Kim, M.H., S.G. Park, and S.O. Baek (2002) Characteristics of atmospheric concentrations of volatile organic compounds at a heavy-traffic site in a large urban area, J. Kor. Soc. Atmos. Environ., 18(2), 113-126. (in Korean with English abstract)
  16. Kim, Y.S. (1993) A perspective on indoor air pollution, J. Kor. Air Pollution Res. Assoc., 9(1), 33-43. (in Korean with English abstract)
  17. National Research Council (1986) Environmental Tobacco Smoke-Measuring Exposures and Assessing Health Effects, Washington DC, National Academy Press., 360 pp.
  18. Shin, D.C., H.M. Lee, J.M. Kim, and Y. Chung (1990) A study on the indoor air pollution level and its health significance in working and living spaces, J. Kor. Air Pollution Res. Assoc., 6(1), 73-84. (in Korean with English abstract)
  19. Song, H.B., K.S. Min, G.H. Han, J.W. Kim, and S.O. Baek (1996) Concentrations of criteria pollutants in indoor and ambient air of public facilities in Tageu area, J. Kor. Air Pollution Res. Assoc., 12(4), 429-439. (in Korean with English abstract)
  20. Song, H.B., T.K. Kwon, S.H. Hong, and S.O. Baek (1998) Evaluation of indoor air quality in large underground parking lots in Taegu area, J. Kor. Soc. Environ. Eng., 20(9), 1315-1330. (in Korean with English abstract)
  21. USEPA (1997) Compendium of methods TO-17 Determination of Toxic Organic Compounds in Ambient air, 2nd Ed., 1-51.
  22. WHO (1991) Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel, WHO/PEP/92-3 A. WHO, Geneva.
  23. WHO(2000) Guidelines for Air Quality, WHO, Geneva.

Cited by

  1. Evaluation of VOCs exposure concentration and health effects assessment regarding respiratory diseases vol.17, pp.2, 2018, https://doi.org/10.15250/joie.2018.17.2.151