THE ROLE OF VENTILATION AND HVAC SYSTEMS FOR HUMAN HEALTH IN NONINDUSTRIAL INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS. A SUPPLEMENTARY REVIEW BY EUROVEN GROUP

摘要

A continuation of the earlier work of the multidisciplinary group of European scientists, EUROVEN, is presented. The group has previously concluded that increased ventilation rates in indoor nonindustrial environments are strongly associated with improved comfort and health and may be associated with increased productivity, and that air-conditioning systems may increase the risk of sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. Taking these findings into account, the group has elaborated 35 hypotheses on the role of ventilation and HVAC systems in non industrial indoor environments with regard to human health; 108 peer-reviewed papers have been reviewed among which 74 supported or refuted the hypotheses. The group concluded that increasing outdoor air supply rates is necessary for dilution/removal of pollutants generated indoors (including allergens), and that improper design, functioning and maintenance of ventilation and air-conditioning systems, as well their intermittent operation, may be potential reasons for health problems of people staying indoors.