Volatile Organic Chemicals in 10 Public-Access Buildings

摘要

The U.S. EPA carried out studies of indoor air quality in 10 buildings. Qualitative analysis identified over 200 aromatics, halogens, esters, alcohols, phenols, ethers, ketones, aldehydes, and epoxides, in addition to several hundred aliphatic hydrocarbons. The total organic load for nine buildings exceeded outdoor levels, by factors of up to 100 for new buildings. New buildings had high levels of eight organics (e.g., decane, xylenes, 1,1,1-trichloroethane). Levels in three new buildings declined with half-lives of 2-8 weeks. For some chemicals (e.g., trichloroethylene) levels increased with time, indicating the influence of consumer products or activities.