Concentrations of Formic Acid, Acetic Acid, and Ammonia in Newly Constructed Houses.

Norimichi Suzuki,Hiroko Nakaoka,Emiko Todaka,Kohki Takaguchi,Kayo Tsumura,Kazunari Takaya,Yoshitake Nakayama,Masamichi Hanazato,Akifumi Eguchi,Chisato Mori

doi:10.3390/ijerph17061940

Abstract

Herein, the concentrations of formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia in samples of indoor air for 47 new houses were measured two weeks after completion. The houses were fabricated with light-gauge steel structures. The measurements were performed in living rooms and bedrooms without furniture and outdoors. Air samples were analyzed using ion chromatography. The mean values were 28 (living room), 30 (bedroom), and 20 μg m−3 (outdoor air) for formic acid; 166 (living room), 151 (bedroom), and 51 μg m−3 (outdoor air) for acetic acid; and 73 (living room), 76 (bedroom), and 21 μg m−3 (outdoor air) for ammonia. The total values of the three substances accounted for 39.4–40.7% of the sum of chemical compound values. The analyzed compounds were indicated by two principal components (PC), PC1 (30.1%) and PC2 (9%), with 39.1% total variance. Formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia were positively aligned with PC1 and negatively aligned with PC2. Factors such as room temperature, aldehydes, and phthalates were positively aligned with PC1 and negatively aligned with PC2. Furthermore, concentrations of formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia were significantly and positively correlated with room temperature (p < 0.05).

Highlights

Because of the recent advancement of new, largely insulated, airtight housing that saves energy, there is an increasing concern regarding indoor safety as there is a higher possibility of chemical substances accumulating in these dwellings compared to conventional houses [1,2]
This study aimed to accurately measure the concentration levels of formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia, since exposure to them may have an effect on human health
Comparing the results for 602 randomly selected housesselected in 2012,houses the results of the two studies,ofthe the two studies, the three substances, formic acid, acetic acid and ammonia, had almost the three substances, formic acid, acetic acid and ammonia, had almost the same concentration levelssame when concentration when averaged across the results these two studies averaged acrosslevels the dwellings

Summary

Introduction

Because of the recent advancement of new, largely insulated, airtight housing that saves energy, there is an increasing concern regarding indoor safety as there is a higher possibility of chemical substances accumulating in these dwellings compared to conventional houses [1,2]. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from building materials, furniture, and personal care products can affect human health. An example of this is building-related symptoms, which can present issues such as sensory irritation, a thickening of mucous membranes, and irregular respiratory symptoms [5,6,7]. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has established guideline values for 13 chemical substances and a provisional target value that serves as a limitation for the amount of total volatile organic. Public Health 2020, 17, 1940; doi:10.3390/ijerph17061940 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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