ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 86

iaq applications
Material Selection to O&M

Materials-Related iaq
B
By leon alevantis, p.E., Member ASHRAE; and Hal levin, Fellow ASHRAE

uilding materials have a strong impact on indoor air quality. Emissions of chemicals from which the building materials are made,

as well as emissions from the products used to clean, polish, or refinish them, include many chemicals with potential effects on occupant comfort (odors) and health (irritants, toxins, allergens, and carcinogens). As a result, a great deal of attention has been given to the selection of building materials for enhanced indoor air quality in several green building rating systems and standards.
Designers need to understand the effects of building material emissions on occupant health. Beyond knowing the importance of emissions from building materials, it is also necessary to understand the importance of emissions from building occupants and their activities; personal hygiene products and cosmetics, cleaning materials, and even clothing can be sources of emissions. Research has shown that emissions from building occupants and their activities dominate the indoor air chemicals within months after occupancy.1 Most importantly, proper maintenance and operation of a building is equally necessary to achieve and maintain good IAQ over the life of a building. effects of the common indoor mixtures of these chemicals are even less well understood. Except for a small number of chemicals, the emissions from building materials decrease with time.1 Some decrease rapidly (on the order of hours or days, such as in the case of wet products) while others decrease slowly (on the order of weeks or months, such as carpeting and most furnishings). The health effects of concern are usually considered to be those affecting body organs. Although odor can actually result in health effects, it is usually investigated separately in terms of its effect on occupant perceptions of IAQ. There is only sparse information on the health effects of odorous chemicals. Typically, the odor threshold limits are significantly higher than the irritation threshold limits for odorous chemicals. Some limited recent research has shown good correlation between perceived IAQ and measured concentration levels of chemicals associated with the odors.2 However, it remains to be seen how the results of this study may be used in the future to develop large databases to
ashrae.org

Building Material Emissions
Building materials typically emit hundreds of chemicals. The most abundant of these chemicals can be detected by various technologies available today. However, there is limited guidance on the health effects of the majority of these chemicals found in offices, schools and other non-industrial environments. The interactions associated with the health
86 ASHRAE Journal

assist building professionals in selecting low- or no-odor building materials. In spite of all the progress that has been made, there have been important events associated with emissions that make us aware we still have a lot to accomplish to effectively remove the hazards associated with emissions from building materials. Two nationally publicized events have made the general public aware that building materials could have serious health effects. The first event relates to high formaldehyde emissions which resulted in abandonment of some of the trailers provided as replacement housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The second event relates to the chemical contamination of gypsum wallboard imported from China, which resulted in many occupant health effects and in serious damage to building systems under hot and humid climate conditions. Over the past two decades a number of testing methods and certification programs have been developed to address the emissions from building materials. While all these efforts have undoubtedly resulted in significant emission reductions from building materials, it is important to understand the pros and cons of each method/program and their limitations. A U.S. EPA-sponsored report is a useful source of these pros and cons.3 In addition, ASHRAE’s recently published Indoor Air Quality Guide (Strategy 5, Tables 5.1-J and 5.1-K) offers a detailed discussion on this topic. The major differences among the various test methods are: test conditions (such as duration of chamber test and ventilation rate, chamber size, and sample size), target compounds and their maximum acceptable concentrations), sample preparation and age, frequency of testing, etc. Some concentration limits are
March 2011



ASHRAE Journal - March 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - March 2011

ASHRAE Journal - March 2011
Contents
Commentary
Industry News
Meetings and Shows
Feature Articles
ASHRAE’s Best: 2011 Technology Awards
Technology Award Case Studies: Hospital Retrofit
Energy Savings for Quick Service Restaurants
Affinity Laws: Why They Work & When They Don’t
Data Center Heat Rejection: Indirect Air-Side Economizer Cycle
Health Care Standard Update
Building Sciences
Solar NZEB Project
HVAC Mythbuster
Washington Report
Emerging Technologies
IAQ Applications
Special Products
People
Classified Advertising
Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - ASHRAE Journal - March 2011
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 2
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Commentary
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 5
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Industry News
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 7
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 8
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 9
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 10
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 11
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 12
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 13
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 14
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 15
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 16
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 17
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 18
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 19
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Meetings and Shows
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 21
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - ASHRAE’s Best: 2011 Technology Awards
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 23
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 24
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 25
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 26
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 27
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 28
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 29
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 30
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 31
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Technology Award Case Studies: Hospital Retrofit
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 33
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 34
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 35
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Energy Savings for Quick Service Restaurants
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 37
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 38
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 39
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 40
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 41
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Affinity Laws: Why They Work & When They Don’t
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 43
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Data Center Heat Rejection: Indirect Air-Side Economizer Cycle
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 45
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 46
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 47
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 48
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 49
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 50
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 51
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 52
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 53
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 54
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 55
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Health Care Standard Update
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 57
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 58
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 59
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 60
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 61
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Building Sciences
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 63
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 64
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 65
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 66
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 67
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 68
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 69
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Solar NZEB Project
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 71
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 72
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 73
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 74
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 75
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 76
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 77
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - HVAC Mythbuster
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 79
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Washington Report
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 81
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Emerging Technologies
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 83
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 84
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 85
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - IAQ Applications
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 87
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 88
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 89
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Special Products
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - People
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 92
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 93
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 94
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 95
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 96
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 97
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 98
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 99
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 100
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 101
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Classified Advertising
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - 103
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - March 2011 - Cover4
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