Estimation of sources and factors affecting indoor VOC levels using basic numerical methods

Sibel Mentese; Deniz Tasdibi; Ersin Orak; Sibel Mentese; Deniz Tasdibi; Ersin Orak

doi:10.3934/environsci.2016.4.827

AIMS Environmental Science

2016, Volume 3, Issue 4: 827-841. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2016.4.827

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

Estimation of sources and factors affecting indoor VOC levels using basic numerical methods

Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Terzioglu campus, Canakkale, 17100, Turkey

Received: 28 August 2016 Accepted: 11 November 2016 Published: 21 November 2016

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a concern due to their adverse health effects and extensive usage. Levels of indoor VOCs were measured in six homes located in three different towns in Çanakkale, Turkey. Monthly indoor VOC samples were collected by passive sampling throughout a year. The highest levels of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), benzene, toluene, and xylenes occurred in industrial, rural, and urban sites in a descending order. VOC levels were categorized as average values annually, during the heating period, and non-heating period. Several building/environmental factors together with occupants’ habits were scored to obtain a basic indoor air pollution index (IAPi) for the homes. Bivariate regression analysis was applied to find the associations between the pollutant levels and home scores. IAPi scores were found to be correlated with average indoor VOC levels. In particular, very strong associations were found for occupants’ habits. Furthermore, observed indoor VOC levels were categorized by using self-organizing map (SOM) and two simple scoring approaches, rounded average and maximum value methods, to classify the indoor environments based on their VOC compositions (IAPvoc). Three classes were used for both IAPi and IAPvoc approaches, namely “good”, “moderate”, and “bad”. There is an urgent need for indexing studies to determine the potential sources and/or factors affecting observed VOCs. This study gives a basic but good start for further studies.
- building characteristics; environmental factors; indoor air pollution; occupants’ habits; volatile organic compounds
Citation: Sibel Mentese, Deniz Tasdibi, Ersin Orak. Estimation of sources and factors affecting indoor VOC levels using basic numerical methods[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2016, 3(4): 827-841. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2016.4.827

Related Papers:

Abstract

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a concern due to their adverse health effects and extensive usage. Levels of indoor VOCs were measured in six homes located in three different towns in Çanakkale, Turkey. Monthly indoor VOC samples were collected by passive sampling throughout a year. The highest levels of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), benzene, toluene, and xylenes occurred in industrial, rural, and urban sites in a descending order. VOC levels were categorized as average values annually, during the heating period, and non-heating period. Several building/environmental factors together with occupants’ habits were scored to obtain a basic indoor air pollution index (IAPi) for the homes. Bivariate regression analysis was applied to find the associations between the pollutant levels and home scores. IAPi scores were found to be correlated with average indoor VOC levels. In particular, very strong associations were found for occupants’ habits. Furthermore, observed indoor VOC levels were categorized by using self-organizing map (SOM) and two simple scoring approaches, rounded average and maximum value methods, to classify the indoor environments based on their VOC compositions (IAPvoc). Three classes were used for both IAPi and IAPvoc approaches, namely “good”, “moderate”, and “bad”. There is an urgent need for indexing studies to determine the potential sources and/or factors affecting observed VOCs. This study gives a basic but good start for further studies.

References

[1]	Maroni M, Seifert B, Lindvall T (1995) Indoor Air Quality – A Comprehensive Reference Book. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 33-34.
[2]	US EPA (2012) “Benzene”. Available from: https://www3.epa.gov/airtoxics/hlthef/benzene.html
[3]	International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (2013) Outdoor Air Pollution a Leading Environmental Cause of Cancer Deaths. Available from: www.iarc.fr/en/mediacentre-/iarcnews/pdf/pr221_E.pdf
[4]	Wolkoff P, Nielsen GD (2001) Organic compounds in indoor air - their relevance for perceived indoor air quality? Atmos Environ 35: 4407-4417. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00244-8
[5]	Schlink U, Rehwagen M, Fritz GJ, et al. (1998) Indikatorschadstoffe in der Außenluft. Gefahrstoffe-Reinhaltung der Luft 58: 407-410.
[6]	Mentese S, Rad AY, Arısoy M, et al. (2012) Multiple comparisons of organic, microbial, and fine particulate pollutants in typical indoor environments: diurnal and seasonal variations. J Air Waste Manag Assoc 62: 1380-1393. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2012.714717
[7]	Rehwagen M, Schlink U, Herbarth O (2003) Seasonal Cycle of VOCs in Apartments. Indoor Air 13: 283-291. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0668.2003.00206.x
[8]	Baek So, Kim YS, Perry R (1997) Indoor Air Quality in Homes, Offices and Restaurants in Korean Urban Areas-Indoor/Outdoor Relationships. Atmos Environ 31: 529-544. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(96)00215-4
[9]	Mentese S (2009) Investigation of indoor air quality and determination of their sources. Faculty of Science, Ph.D. thesis. Ankara: Hacettepe University, 456.
[10]	Mentese S, Mirici NA, Otkun MT, et al. (2015) Association between respiratory health and indoor air pollution exposure in Canakkale, Turkey. Build Environ 93: 72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.01.023
[11]	Mohamed M, Kang D, Aneja V (2002) Volatile Organic Compounds in Some Urban Locations in United States. Chemosphere 47: 863-882. doi: 10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00107-8
[12]	Gilli G, Bono R, Scursatone E (1990) Volatile Halogenated Hydrocarbons in Urban Atmosphere and in Human Blood. Arch Environ Health 45: 101-106. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1990.9935933
[13]	Shields HC, Fleischer DM, Weschler CJ (1996) Comparisons Among VOCs Measured in Three Types of U.S. Commercial Buildings with Different Occupant Densities. Indoor Air 6: 2-17.
[14]	Mentese S, Tasdibi D (2016) A One-year Round Study: Spatial Variations of Indoor VOC Levels and Influences of Building/Environmental Characteristics and Occupants’ Habits (Basic Indoor Air Pollution Index). 14th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate (Indoor Air 2016), Ghent, Belgium, July 3-8 2016.
[15]	Kohonen T (2001) Self-Organizing Maps. New York: Springer-Verlag Inc.
[16]	Chon TS (2011) Self-Organizing Maps applied to ecological sciences. Ecol Inform 6: 50-61. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2010.11.002
[17]	ISO 16017-2 (2003) Indoor, ambient and workplace air - Sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds by sorbent tube/thermal desorption/capillary gas chromatography - Part 2: Diffusive sampling. Geneva: ISO.
[18]	European Collaborative Action (ECA) - IAQ (1997) Total Volatile Organic Compounds TVOC in Indoor Air Quality Investigations. Report No. 19, European Commission, Brussels.
[19]	ISO 16000-6 (2004) Determination of volatile organic compounds in indoor and test chamber air by active sampling on Tenax TA sorbent, thermal desorption and gas chromatography using MS/FID, indoor, ambient and workplace air sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds by sorbent tube/thermal desorption/capillary gas chromatography e Part 1: pumped sampling. Geneva: ISO.
[20]	US EPA (1999) Compendium Method for the Determination of Organic Compounds in Ambient Air TO-17, EPA/625/R-96010b.
[21]	Mentese S, Tasdibi D (2016) Airborne bacteria levels in indoor urban environments: the influence of season and prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS). Indoor Built Environ 25: 563-580. doi: 10.1177/1420326X14562454
[22]	Chon TS, Park YS (2008) Self-Organizing Map. In SE. Jørgensen & BD. Fath (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Ecology. Oxford: Academic Press, 3203-3210.
[23]	Kalteh AM, Hjorth P, Berndtsson R (2008) Review of the self-organizing map (SOM) approach in water resources: Analysis, modelling and application. Environ Model Softw 23: 835-845.
[24]	European Union (2008) Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/50/oj
[25]	Lee SC, Guo H, Li WM, et al. (2002) Inter-comparison of Air Pollutant Concentrations in Different Indoor Environments in Hong Kong. Atmos Environ 36: 1929-1940. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00176-0
[26]	Gokhale S, Kohajda T, Schlink U (2008) Source Apportionment of Human Personal Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds in Homes, Offices and Outdoors by Chemical Mass Balance and Genetic Algorithm Receptor Models. Sci Total Environ 407: 122-138. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.08.025
[27]	Pekey H, Arslanbas D (2008) The Relationship Between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal VOC Concentrations in Homes, Offices and Schools in the Metropolitan Region of Kocaeli, Turkey. Water Air Soil Pollut 191: 113-129. doi: 10.1007/s11270-007-9610-y
[28]	Wolkoff P (1999) How to measure and evaluate volatile organic compound emissions from building products: A perspective. Sci Total Environ 227: 197-213. doi: 10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00019-4
[29]	International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (1987) Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenicity of Benzene, Mongraphs 100F.
[30]	Janssen NAH, Van Kliet PHN, Aarts F, et al. (2001) Assessment of Exposure to the Traffic Related Air Pollution of Children Attending Schools Near the Motorways. Atmos Environ 35: 3875-3884. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00144-3
[31]	Fischer P, Hoek G, Van Reeuwijk H, et al. (2000) Traffic-related differences in outdoor and indoor concentrations of particles and volatile organic compounds in Amsterdam. Atmos Environ 34: 3713-3722. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(00)00067-4
[32]	Kotzias D (2005) Indoor air and human exposure assessment - needs and approaches. Exp Toxicol Pathol 57: 5-7. doi: 10.1016/j.etp.2005.05.002

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2016 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)