Effect of renovating an office building on occupants' comfort and health.

An intervention study was performed in a mechanically ventilated office building in which there were severe indoor climate complaints among the occupants. In one part of the building a new heating and ventilation strategy was implemented by renovating the HVAC system, and a carpet was replaced with a low-emitting vinyl floor material; the other part of the building was kept unchanged, serving as a control. A comprehensive indoor climate investigation was performed before and after the intervention. Over a 2-week period, the occupants completed a daily questionnaire regarding their comfort and health. Physiological examinations of eyes, nose and lungs were performed on each occupant. Physical, chemical and sensory measurements were performed before and after the intervention. The renewal of the flooring material was performed after a sensory test of alternative solutions in the laboratory. Before the floor material was installed in the office building, a full-scale exposure experiment was performed in the laboratory. The new ventilation strategy and renovation of the HVAC system were selected on the basis of laboratory experiments on a full-scale mock-up of a cellular office. The severity of occupants' environmental perceptions and symptoms was significantly reduced by the intervention.

[1]  L. Mølhave,et al.  Human exposure to emissions from building materials , 1999 .

[2]  D. Norbäck,et al.  A longitudinal study relating carpeting with sick building syndrome , 1990 .

[3]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  A new approach for indoor climate labeling of building materials—emission testing, modeling, and comfort evaluation☆ , 1996 .

[4]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  Chemical and Biological Evaluation of Building Material Emissions. II. Approaches for Setting Indoor Air Standards or Guidelines for Chemicals , 1997 .

[5]  P. L. Jensen,et al.  Human response to 78-hour exposure to dry air. , 1974, Archives of environmental health.

[6]  Henrik Brohus,et al.  Personal Exposure to Contaminant Sources in Ventilated Rooms , 1997 .

[7]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  Dust and the sick building syndrome , 1994 .

[8]  Peder Wolkoff.  How to measure and evaluate volatile organic compound emissions from building products. A perspective. , 1999, The Science of the total environment.

[9]  P Wargocki,et al.  Perceived air quality, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and productivity in an office with two different pollution loads. , 1999, Indoor air.

[10]  O. Valbjørn,et al.  The “sick” building syndrome in the office environment: The Danish town hall study , 1987 .

[11]  Henrik Brohus,et al.  Personal Exposure in Displacement Ventilated Rooms , 1996 .

[12]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  Field and Laboratory Emission Cell: FLEC , 1991 .

[13]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  Chemical, microbiological, health and comfort aspects of indoor air quality : state of the art in SBS , 1992 .

[14]  Peder Wolkoff,et al.  An emission cell for measurement of volatile organic compounds emitted from building materials for indoor use - the field and laboratory emission cell FLEC , 1996 .

[15]  L. Mølhave,et al.  Human reactions to low concentrations of volatile organic compounds , 1986 .

[16]  Povl Ole Fanger,et al.  Sensory characterization of emissions from materials , 1997 .

[17]  Henrik Brohus,et al.  Detection and Solution of Indoor Air Quality Problems in a Danish Town Hall , 1997 .

[18]  P O Fanger,et al.  Impact of temperature and humidity on chemical and sensory emissions from building materials. , 1999, Indoor air.

[19]  P. Ole Fanger.  Discomfort Caused by Odorants and Irritants in the Air , 1998 .

[20]  P. Fanger,et al.  ADAPTATION TO INDOOR AIR POLLUTION , 1992 .