Emission Sources and their Contribution to Indoor Air Pollution by Carbonyl Compounds in a School and a Residential Building in Shizuoka, Japan

Abstract

A simple method for screening indoor emission sources of carbonyl compounds developed previously by the authors was used for this study. The new device, which is called “emission cell for simultaneous multisampling” (ECSMS), was used for flux sampling of volatile carbonyl compounds from surfaces of building and furnishing materials in situ. Indoor carbonyl concentrations in various rooms at a school and residential building in Shizuoka, Japan, were investigated in 2006 using the developed techniques. In several rooms, formaldehyde concentrations exceeded the air quality guideline value (100 µg m−3) set by the World Health Organization. The formaldehyde emission rates from the various surfaces in those rooms were determined using the ECSMS units. The furniture was found to be the major emission source of formaldehyde emission in many of the rooms; emissions from the furniture accounted for 42–79% of each room’s total emissions. On the basis of the results, a strategy to reduce the indoor formaldehyde concentrations in each room is proposed by this paper. This study confirmed that the ECSMS can be used for on-site screening of primary emission sources of formaldehyde that could cause indoor air pollution.