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Environ Monit Assess

Title:		A systematic indoor air quality audit approach for public buildings
Author(s):		Asadi E; da Silva MC; Costa JJ;
Address:		"MIT-Portugal Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. ehsan.asadi@dem.uc.pt"
Journal Title:		Environ Monit Assess
Year:		2013
Volume:		20120323
Issue:		1
Page Number:		865 - 875
DOI:		10.1007/s10661-012-2597-x
ISSN/ISBN:		1573-2959 (Electronic) 0167-6369 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Good indoor air quality (IAQ) in buildings provides a comfortable and healthy environment for the occupants to work, learn, study, etc. Therefore, it is important to ascertain the IAQ status in the buildings. This study is aimed to establish and demonstrate the comprehensive IAQ audit approach for public buildings, based on Portugal national laws. Four public buildings in Portugal are used to demonstrate the IAQ audit application. The systematic approach involves the measurement of physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and concentration of the suspended particulate matter), monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators [carbon dioxide (CO(2)), carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ozone, and total volatile organic compounds], and the measurements of biological indicators (bacteria and fungi). In addition, air exchange rates are measured by the concentration decay method using metabolic CO(2) as the tracer gas. The comprehensive audits indicated some situations of common IAQ problems in buildings, namely: (1) insufficient ventilation rate, (2) too high particle concentration; and (3) poor filtration effectiveness and hygienic conditions in most of the air handling units. Accordingly, a set of recommendations for the improvement of IAQ conditions were advised to the building owner/managers"
Keywords:		"Air Microbiology Air Pollutants/*analysis Air Pollution, Indoor/*analysis/statistics & numerical data Carbon Dioxide/analysis Carbon Monoxide/analysis *Environmental Monitoring Particulate Matter/analysis Portugal Temperature Volatile Organic Compounds/an;"
Notes:		"MedlineAsadi, Ehsan da Silva, Manuel C Gameiro Costa, J J eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Netherlands 2012/03/23 Environ Monit Assess. 2013 Jan; 185(1):865-75. doi: 10.1007/s10661-012-2597-x. Epub 2012 Mar 23"