People spend 80 to 90% of their time indoors. Therefore, the quality of the indoor air is of particular interest. Human wellbeing is not only affected by the climatic conditions (temperature, air humidity, air exchange rate and air velocity) but also by the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Sources of these VOCs might be building materials, floor coverings, interior furnishings, furniture, human activities (including cooking, cleaning, renovating, smoking) or the outside air. The current focus is on building materials, as these, typically, cannot be influenced by the resident. Thus, these materials are particularly noteworthy for their VOC delivery. For wood products, this is of fundamental importance, as wood as an organic material can contain a number of substances that are volatile under normal conditions and thus detectable as VOC concentrations – the typical smell of pine wood is one of them.
Keywords: indoor air quality, volatile organic compounds VOC, European construction products regulation
Authors
Martin Ohlmeyer
Thünen Institute for Wood Research (TI)
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