Factors Effecting the Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) Concentrations in Slovak Households

Ľudmila Mečiarová, Silvia Vilčeková, Eva Krídlová Burdová and Jozef Kiselák
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Ľudmila Mečiarová: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Vysokoškolská 4, 04200 Košice, Slovakia
Silvia Vilčeková: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Vysokoškolská 4, 04200 Košice, Slovakia
Eva Krídlová Burdová: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Vysokoškolská 4, 04200 Košice, Slovakia
Jozef Kiselák: Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Jesenná 5, 04001 Košice, Slovakia

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-26

Abstract: Thirty five Slovak households were selected for an investigation of indoor environmental quality. Measuring of indoor air physical and chemical factors and a questionnaire survey was performed during May 2017. The range of permissible operative temperature was not met in 11% of objects. Relative humidity met the legislative requirements in all monitored homes. Concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) were significantly higher in the apartments than in the family houses. The average TVOC levels in the apartments and family houses were 519.7 µg/m 3 and 330.2 µg/m 3 , respectively. Statistical analysis confirmed the effect of indoor air temperature, relative humidity and particulate matter (PM 0.5 and PM 1 ) on the levels of TVOCs. Higher TVOC levels were observed also in homes where it is not a common practice to open windows during cleaning activities. Other factors that had a statistically significant effect on concentrations of volatile organic compounds were heating type, attached garage, location of the apartment within residential building (the floor), as well as number of occupants. Higher TVOC concentrations were observed in indoor than outdoor environment, while further analysis showed the significant impact of indoor emission sources on the level of these compounds in buildings. The questionnaire study showed a discrepancy between objective measurement and subjective assessment in the household environment, and pointed to insufficient public awareness about volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Keywords: TVOC; household; indoor environment; characteristics; dependence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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