Abstract
The objective of this paper was to offer a comparative analysis of currently implemented statutory and technical regulations in Taiwan and Japan for volatile organic compounds (VOC) in indoor atmospheres. The findings should help to manage indoor air quality (IAQ) based on public and occupational health considerations. The first part of the present study summarizes the Indoor Air Quality Management Act in Taiwan and related regulations for building materials. We further highlight that Taiwan became the second country in the world to enact an IAQ management law in 2011. In addition, the permissible exposure limits (PEL) are also addressed to recognize safe levels of VOC concentrations below which adverse health effects are not expected to occur in the workplace environment. In the second part of the paper, the statuses of statutory and voluntary regulations for IAQ issues in Japan are compiled from the official websites of the central ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. This analysis shows that both countries have adopted similar processes to establish the IAQ standard/guideline values and low-emission building materials, despite slight differences in their methods and central ministries. In contrast, the VOCs regulated by these regulations differ completely, with the exception of formaldehyde. Although the IAQ standards in Taiwan seem to be more stringent than those in Japan, Japan’s longer experience shows a diversity of management tools and regulations based on the guideline values.
Highlights
In modern society, indoor air quality (IAQ) is of great importance to human health, as people generally spend 90% of their lifetimes inside buildings
In order to confirm the effect of the revision of the Act, the MLITT conducted a survey on the indoor concentration of designated volatile organic compounds (VOC) in newly built houses from 2000 to 2005
Since the term “Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)” was first introduced by the World Health Organization in 1984, indoor air quality (IAQ) problems have led to the practice of promoting sustainable buildings that are healthy, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly
Summary
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is of great importance to human health, as people generally spend 90% of their lifetimes inside buildings. Due to the limited residential space and the promotion of the improvement of the living environment in densely populated Japan, the Japanese government initially enacted the Act on Maintenance of Sanitation in Building in 1970, and established the Management Standards of Environmental Sanitation for Buildings as an ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) [7]. Legislative Yuan passed the Indoor Air Quality Management Act (IAQMA), making Taiwan the second nation after Korea to implement statutory regulations for IAQ. As indoor VOCs have attracted increasing concern, regulations for these indoor air contaminants have been developed in recent years These IAQ standards/guidelines are based on the occupational exposure limits (OEL) and/or ambient air-quality standards (such as the Environmental Air Quality Standards in Japan).
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