Indoor Pollutants in 70 Houses in the Tennessee Valley Area: Study Design and Measurement Methods

摘要

Levels of nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, vapor-phase polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, respirable particles, radon and other parameters related to indoor air quality are being measured with passive monitors in a year-long study of indoor air quality in 70 houses in the Tennessee Valley area. Criteria for house selection included presence of a lower level with cement floor and one or more block walls in contact with the soil and proximity to one of four cities in the region (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Birmingham, and Florence). By design, most of the houses in the study are in the same neighborhood as at least one other house in the study. Houses range in age from newly constructed to about forty years old, typically have more than 2000 square feet of finished floor space, and encompass a garage in the lower level in most cases. Six houses near Knoxville were especially selected for intensive study. An instrumented measurement and data acquisition system were used during the summer of 1985 to make a nearly continuous record of oxides of nitrogen, oxides of carbon, formaldehyde, particulate matter, ozone, air exchange rate, and air movement. Simultaneously, passive monitors identical to those used throughout the study were deployed with increased replication in the houses. (ERA citation 11:032708)