Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3 Indoor pollutants covered in this chapter and their main sources (Zhang and Smith
2003
; Bernstein et al.
2008
)
Type of pollutant
Indoor pollutant
Main indoor sources
Inorganic pollutants
Asbestos
Construction materials
Carbon monoxide
Fuel combustion, ETS
Nitrogen dioxide
Fuel combustion for heating and cooking
Radon
Soil surrounding building, construction
materials
Mixture of inorganic
and organic
pollutants
Particulate matter
Fuel combustion, cleaning operations,
cooking, ETS
Organic pollutants
PAHs
Fuel combustion, ETS, cooking
VOCs
Benzene
Adhesives, sealants, ETS, printers, copiers
Formaldehyde
Smoking, combustion processes, millwork,
office furniture, textiles, cooking
Naphthalene
ETS, combustion processes, mothballs,
building materials wall covering,
window shades
Trichloroethylene
Solvents, drinking water, consumer
products
Tetrachloroethlylene
Solvents, dry-cleaned clothes from the
building occupants.
Biologic pollutants
Dampness and mould
Damp conditions indoors
(Sahlberg et al.
2013
) and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, emitted from floor dampness (Zhang
et al.
2012
). Nevertheless, the use of MVOCs as markers of dampness and moulds
exposure is controversial as they may also be emitted from other sources such as
ETS or building materials. Other authors reported that C
8
MVOCs may be reliable
indicators of fungal growth, which may be use to detect dampness and mould
problems and, hence, IAQ problems indoors (Ryan and Beaucham
2013
).
As well as outdoors, the presence of a chemical and its concentration in indoor
air will depend on its sources. Main indoor sources of air pollutants are the
occupants of the building, materials used in the construction and furnishings, and
the activity inside the building; including the use of products containing pollutants
(cleaning products, insecticides, disinfectants, etc.) or combustion gases (heating,
kitchens, etc.). Table
3
shows indoor pollutants covered in this chapter organised
by pollutant type and - described in detail in the following sections - and a
summary of their main individual sources.
2.1 Asbestos
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring impure hydrated silicate minerals:
chrysotile, actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, crocidolite and tremolite. Asbestos
fibres exhibit high tensile strength, resistance to heat and to chemical attack. Due to
