摘要:

AbstractThis publication summarizes field investigations and controlled experiments on the relation between low levels of indoor air pollution with volatile organic compounds (VOC) and human health and comfort. The Henle‐Kock criteria from epidemiology are revised for the dose‐response relation between VOC's and health as comfort effects and existing evidence for each criterion are discussed. A biological model for human responses is suggested, based on three mechanisms: sensory perception of the environment, weak inflammatory reactions, and environmental stress reactions. Further, the TVOC‐indicator concept for exposure is discussed. The conclusion is that no experimental or field data contradict the proposed causality. On the contrary, evidence supports the suggested causality. The biological model, however, is not yet based on acceptable measures of the variables for exposures, co‐variables or health effects. A tentative guideline for VOC's in non‐industrial indoor environments is suggested. The no‐effect level seems to be about 0.2 mg/m3. A multi‐factorial exposure range may exist between 0.2 and 3 mg/m3. Above 3 mg/m3discomfor

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00001.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate whether asthmatic reactions and changes in tear film quality could be provoked by exposing subjects to emissions from building materials in climate chambers. Twenty asthmatics and 5 healthy controls were exposed to (1) gypsum board hung with waterborne painted wallpaper; (2) rubber floor covering; (3) nylon carpet with rubber mat; (4) particle board coated with acid‐curing paint; and (5) no test materials in climate chambers for 6 h. Participants recorded symptoms by filling in questionnaires, and clinical data were evaluated by lung function measurements at intervals of 30 min to 1h, and external eye examinations before and after exposure (appearance of foam at eyelid, semi‐quantitative measurements of precorneal superficial lipid layer, break‐up time and epithelial damage). There was agreement between a trained panel's evaluation of perceived air quality and the participants' opinion of indoor air quality. No correlation was found between lung function measurements and exposure to the materials. However, for all materials, statistically significant changes in tear film quality were observed to varying degrees. Lipophilic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) may destabilize the lipid multilayer of the tear fluid, and this mechanism is suggested to be at least partly responsible for eye irrit

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00002.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractMonitoring of human reactions to the emission of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from four commonly used building materials was carried out. The building materials were: a painted gypsum board, a rubber floor, a nylon carpet, and a particle board with an acid‐curing paint. The exposures were performed in climate chambers. The air quality was quantified on the decipol scale by a trained panel, measurements of formaldehyde and VOC being performed simultaneously. The irritating potency of the materials was measured by a mouse bioassay. The VOC measurements showed several malodorants and irritants. Some abundant VOC identified in the head‐space analyses were absent in the climate chamber air. The rubber floor and the nylon carpet exhibited a marked increase in decipols compatible with a number of odorous VOC identified in the air. A high formaldehyde concentration (minimum 743μg/m3) was measured for the particle board coated with an acid‐curing paint. This was not reflected by a corresponding relatively high decipol value but a long‐lasting irritating potency was observed in the mouse bioassay. TVOC sampled on Tenax and expressed in mass per volume as well as in molar concentration, and decipol evaluation both have limitations and should be used with caution as indicators of (perceived) indoor air quality. Eye irritation expressed by means of the eye index reflecting the tear film quality index (comprised of break‐up time, foam formation, thickness of the precorneal lipid layer of the tear film, and epithelial damage) was found to be insensitive to formaldehyde and a VOC mixture but sensitive to TVOC concentrations of 1–2 mg/m3. Lipophilic VOC may be the cause of reduced tear film quality by destabilization of the lipid multilayer of t

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00003.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAcute responses to 65 min exposures to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) were tested in 24 healthy non‐asthmatic nonsmokers and 16 asthmatic nonsmokers, using an environmental chamber. Each subject was exposed to air (sham), and machine‐generated cigarette smoke containing 17 ppm and 31 ppm carbon monoxide (CO). Nonasthmatic subjects exercised intermittently (mean respiratory minute volume (V̊E) of 44 l/min during each of two 15–min exercise bouts); asthmatic subjects remained at rest. After completion of the exposure, subjects made a 0–5 rating of the severity of symptoms, as well as rating the overall severity of exposure on a 0–100 scale. Both symptoms and exposure severity rating were significantly related to CO concentrations. Ratings for a given ETS exposure tended to be higher for asthmatic than for nonasthmatic subjects. Overall exposure severity rating was significantly (p<0.05) related to four symptom scores for the asthmatics and three for the nonasthmatic subjects. Symptoms common to both groups included unpleasant odour, and nasal discharge; shortness of breath was unique for nonasthmatics and eye irritation for asthmatk subjects. Although the nonasthmatic subjects were exercising intermittently, and thus received both a higher respiratory exposure (calculated from a CO‐based index of ETS concentration, V̊E, and time) and biological exposure (calculated independently using a rebreathing estimate of the increment in carboxyhemoglobin level), the asthmatic subjects appeared to be more adversely affected by the ETS exposures in terms of their subjectiv

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00004.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to predict how indoor air is perceived when polluted by different materials simultaneously. A panel of five trained judges was exposed to air polluted by each of 11 different single pollution sources. The panel was also exposed to 13 pair combinations of these single pollution sources and to one combination of five sources. The pollution sources comprised typical indoor building materials, materials from ventilation systems and other frequently occurring indoor pollution sources. The results indicate that the total sensory pollution load in a space may, as a first approximation, be predkted by simple addition of the olf values of the single sources.

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00005.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe aim of the study was to compare the results of a self‐administered questionnaire, designed to estimate the prevalence of the sick building syndrome, with an independent medical interview and clinical opinion. Six buildings were chosen for study from a sample of 47 with known measurements of the building symptom index. One building with a high and one with a low score was selected from each of three ventilation classes (natural ventilation, air‐conditioning with induction units and air‐conditioning with variable air volume systems). A stratified random sample of 160 workers in these buildings was studied. Each received, in random order, a self‐administered questionnaire, and a medical opinion based on a free medical history. The doctor had no access to the self‐administered questionnaire at the time. The average number of work‐related symptoms per worker (the building symptom index), which is used to compare one building with another, showed a good agreement between the two methods. There were, however, consistent differences between the two assessments in individual symptoms. The self‐administered questionnaire produced a higher prevalence of work‐re‐lated runny nose and flu‐like symptoms, which were often regarded as being due to infections in the medical opinion. In individuals, work‐related symptoms on the self‐administered questionnaire were validated by the medical opinion in over 75% of cases for eye and throat symptoms, lethargy and headache. Only 31% of work‐related runny nose and 21% of work‐related flu‐like symptoms were thought by the medical opinion to be work‐related. The medical opinion identified an extra 5% of work‐related symptoms that were missed on the self‐administered questionnaire. The self‐administered questionnaire therefore produced a satisfactory estimate of the building symptom index, removing the potential bias of an interviewer. The questions on ninny nose and flu‐like symptoms would be improved by including only those that occurred more frequently. The building symptom index was calculated for the six buildings twice, with separate random samples of workers completing the questionnaire two years apart. The buildings were ranked in the same order (for the building symptom index) on both occasions, again confirming the validity

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00006.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of symptoms and the perception of poor indoor air quality among the occupants of houses and apartments with different ventilation systems. The study population consisted of the 473 occupants of 242 dwellings in the Helsinki metropolitan area who responded to a self‐administered questionnaire (response rate 93.1%) after a two‐week period of indoor air quality measurements. The symptoms of interest were those often related to poor indoor air quality including dryness or itching of the skin; dryness, irritation or itching of the eyes; nasal congestion (“blocked nose”) nasal dry‐ness; nasal discharge (“runny nose”); sneezing; cough; breathlessness; headache or migraine; and lethargy, weakness or nausea. Perception of coldness; warm‐ness; draught; dryness; stuffiness; and sufficiency of air exchange was also requested. The age‐standardized period prevalences of the symptoms and complaints were systematically more common among the occupants of the apartments than those of the houses. The occupants of the houses with natural ventilation seemed to have more symptoms and complaints than those with balanced ventilation. However, in the apartments with balanced ventilation the occupants reported, in general, more symptoms and complaints than those with na

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00007.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThermal comfort measurements were taken in 17 enterprises at 129 work sites in shops, stores and offices. The measurements included air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity and radiant temperature asymmetry according to ISO 7726 and ISO 7730 standards. The workers also answered a questionnaire dealing with thermal comfort. Predicted mean vote (PMV) and the percentages of workers complaining of draught (“percentage dissatisfied”, PD) were determined and compared with the workers' assessments of thermal conditions. The estimations of air temperature were always too low, and the estimated PMV indicated that the thermal environment was too warm. The calculated PMVs were usually lower than the estimated ones. Most of the workers complained of draught, even though, according to the PD index, fewer than 17% of the workers should have felt discomfort due to draught. The radiant temperature asymmetry was always small and did not explain complaints of draught on the basis of the reference value. Judged by the present reference values, and the measurement of the thermal environment, the workers overestimated the sensation of thermal discomf

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00008.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractA model based on heat diffusion through the skin is developed for the dynamic response of cutaneous thermo‐receptors to temperature stimuli at the skin surface. It is applied to various neurophysiological experiments with good results. The model is then extended to sensation and a set of psychophysical experiments on human subjects is examined and compared with the model predictions. Altogether, in terms of both the neurophysiological response and the sensation response, this model gives good agreement with the experiment

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00009.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractPortable air pollution samplers were used to measure sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and respirable suspended particulates (RSP) in a study of a group of nineteen asthmatics during two periods in the winter and summer respectively. One sampler was carried by each subject, one was placed in the home indoors, and one outdoors by the home. In addition, similar pollutants were measured at a central stationary site within a 15 km radius during the same time periods. Samplers were not placed, however, in other indoor spaces where subjects spent part(s) of the day. We used the data from all the sampling sites to develop predictive models for personal exposure. With 330 person‐days of exposure data, multiple regression of these “fixed site” measures of pollution against the personal exposure measures revealed a predictive relationship whose power increased proportionally to the time the subjects spent indoors. This relationship was limited, however, since samplers were not placed at other indoor spaces, thus leaving the predictive model incomplete. A pollution index in which these indoor and outdoor pollutant measures were weighted by the time spent at home indoors and outdoors was predictive of personal exposure for NO2and RSP (R = 0.78,0.44 respectively); the SO2levels were too low to be used in the comparative analysis (R =

ISSN:0905-6947    

DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.00010.x

出版商:Munksgaard International Publishers    

年代:1991

数据来源: WILEY