A field study on the indoor air quality of wooden welfare facilities in Korea

Abstract

The rapid economic growth in the East Asian region has particularly raised the issue of air quality. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has also become an important research topic in the building environment. Indoor air pollutants are harmful to human health and are especially dangerous to vulnerable populations, such as elderly people and children. Wood interior remodelling can protect people’s health from indoor air pollutants and wood is and eco-friendly and sustainable building material with low thermal conductivity and humidity control. This study measured the IAQ of twelve welfare facilities in Korea which renovated the interior with wood materials to improve indoor air quality. In this study, twelve IAQ factors were measured as follows. Comfort factors (Temperature and Relative humidity), particulate matter, biological pollutants, air borne asbestos fibers, and chemical pollutants (carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, Volatile Organic Compounds, radon, ozone, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide). As a result, the measured value of the indoor air quality factors for 12 welfare facilities is as follows. The average particulate matter was less than 12μg/m3, the average of carbon dioxide was 754.2ppm, the formaldehyde was 46μg/m3, the volatile organic compounds was 335μg/m3, the total airborne bacteria was 37.8 CFU/m3and the radon was 59.5Bq/m3.