Measurement and analysis of concentrations of volatile organic compounds in a newly painted room

Abstract

Since, people spend most of their times indoors, either at home or at work, it is essential to maintain a high level of health and safety inside all types of buildings. If the health conditions of occupants are adversely affected due to the indoor environment, it is called the sick building syndrome (SBS). The main causes of SBS are, bad planning of a building, which leads to, poor ventilation, higher temperature, higher humidity, poor building operational practices and emissions from building materials. Air pollutants due to building materials can include paints and coatings which may emit harmful chemicals. Further the emissions from building maintenance chemicals, such as, detergents, disinfectants, antiseptics and air fresheners can pollute the indoor environment. The main objective of the research covered in this paper is to measure concentrations of gaseous emissions from water based and solvent based paints, during the painting process and immediately after painting and to compare results with air quality standards. The Indoor Air Quality Monitor (IQM60/Environmental Monitor V5.0) was used to measure concentrations of gaseous emissions. The results indicated that the concentration of TVOC (Total Volatile Organic Compounds) has increased during the painting process and the time taken for the emissions to get dispersed and the air quality of the room to get back to the permissible level has been found to be more than two hours.