Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
fever, and Legionnaires' disease; transmission of contagious diseases such as
flu, colds, and tuberculosis; exposure to resuspended surface dusts; exposure
to ETS where smoking is not restricted; etc. With some exceptions, radon,
unvented combustion appliance emissions, pesticides, and lead-based-paint-
contaminated dusts are not major exposure concerns; radon, pesticides, and
lead-contaminated dusts are, however, concerns in school buildings.
Health concerns, as indicated above, include diseases such as Legion-
naires' disease, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and illness symptoms often
described as “sick building syndrome.”
IV. Other indoor environments
Because humans spend so much time indoors, most IE concerns have focused
on buildings. Nevertheless, exposures to airborne or resuspended surface
contaminants occur in other environments as well. These include interiors
of motor vehicles, airplanes, trains, ships, submarines, and space capsules.
A. Motor vehicles
Motor vehicles represent unique IAQ/IE concerns. Contaminants such as
VOCs and SVOCs may be emitted from materials used in vehicle interiors,
e.g., vinyl plastics. They may also become entrained in the interior compart-
ment from the vehicle's own exhaust or the exhaust of other vehicles. Air-
conditioning systems may also be a source of contamination. Exposures may
be brief, varying from minutes to hours per day, and possibly repeated daily.
B.
Commercial airplanes
Travel in commercial aircraft (
Figure 1.8
)
is a relatively infrequent occurrence
for most individuals (except flight crews). Airplanes are in some ways similar
to nonresidential buildings. They are characterized by high occupant densi-
ties (2 m
/person) and mechanical systems that use both recirculated and
3
Figure 1.8
Commercial aircraft.
