Source of Phenol Emissions Affecting the Indoor Air of an Office Building

摘要

For several years, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)employees occupying Floors 3 through 5 of the Silver Spring Metro Center Building One (SSMC-1) in Silver Spring, MD have complained about ailments which they have associated with poor indoor air quality. NOAA and the General Services Administration (GSA) commissioned at least six indoor air quality surveys to seek the causes of these complaints. In one of the later surveys (5), it was concluded that phenol emissions from an epoxy floor-leveling material used in leveling the floor slabs were causing the indoor air quality complaints from Floors 3 through 5. To obtain an independent analysis and assessment, NOAA and GSA asked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to ascertain whether phenol (or any other volatile organic compound) was being emitted from the epoxy floor-leveling material and, if so, to recommend remedial actions for mitigating or eliminating the emissions.