Investigation of Air Pollution in Large Public Buildings in Japan and of Employees’ Personal Exposure Levels

Abstract

Recently, a major change in indoor air environment has been recognized. This change is caused by highly air-tight buildings incorporating adiabatic and other new building materials, and can cause a series of health problems called the sick building syndrome. This chapter examines the present state of indoor air pollution by chemical pollutants in 22 large Japanese buildings, which include a museum, university, department store, amusement facility that are open to the public. We also investigated the personal exposure level of employees when they were working in these buildings and also when staying at their individual houses. We measured 32 kinds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde. The chemicals were collected by a diffusive air sampler for aldehyde (DSD-DNPH) and VOCs (VOC-SD). The geometric mean outdoor concentration of formaldehyde was 9.2 μg/m3, whereas the indoor concentration was 18.7 μg/m3. The geometric mean personal exposure level was 28.9 μg/m3. The level of acetaldehyde was almost half of formaldehyde at each point. The geometric mean indoor concentrations of toluene, ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, decane, undecane, and limonene were 8.5, 5.1, 3.5, 8.3, 10.4, and 5.6 μg/m3, respectively. In a pachinko parlor, we observed a high concentration of aldehydes, including acetaldehyde, caused by cigarette smoking. In the bookstore, we observed a high concentration of toluene, which may be released from ink. We also found that the level of personal exposure generally had the same tendency as the indoor air pollution level. The air quality in large public buildings in Japan was maintained at a good condition because of the Act on Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings.