A Study on the Improvement of Indoor Air Quality in Apartment Buildings

공동주택의 실내공기환경 개선에 관한 연구

This study aims to present the fundamental strategies to improve the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in apartment buildings. To investigate the concentration of indoor air pollutants such as radon, formaldehyde, and VOCs, both the document survey and the field measurement were conducted. In addition, to identify the source of the air pollutants, the laboratory experiment was carried out for various building materials. Finally, the minimum period to be reserved befor3e building occupation to ensure healthy IAQ, which largely depends on the ventilation rates, was simulated using a simple compuer program. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. In case of newly-constructed apartment houses, concentrations of formaldehyde, VOCs and radon were found to exceed the standard. Meanwhile, at existing apartment houses, concentrations of VOCs, particularly toluene and xylene, highly exceeded the standasrd level. Concentrations of formaldehyde and radon, however, had been lowered according to the duration of occupation. 2. The laboratory experiment of concentration of pollutants per square meter of building material surface area showed that radon gas was much emitted from the gypsumboard; formaldehyde from flooring and wallpaper; and VOCs from paints and kitchen furnishings. The emission rates of formaldehyde and VOCs were proportional to air temperature. 3. According to the simulation of the minimum period to be reserved before occupation, newly-constructed airtight houses required about 190-200 days, and naturally ventialted houses with fully-open-windows required about 20-45days, in order to keep the level of radon gas lower than standard. Therefore, with the current practice, the date of occupation should be delayed for about 15 days.