Monitoring, Human Health Risk Assessment and Optimized Management for Typical Pollutants in Indoor Air from Random Families of University Staff, Wuhan City, China

Xiyao Chen, Fei Li, Chaoyang Liu, Jun Yang, Jingdong Zhang and Chunlin Peng
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Xiyao Chen: Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Fei Li: Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Chaoyang Liu: Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Jun Yang: Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Jingdong Zhang: Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Chunlin Peng: School of Statistics and Mathematics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: In this study, 31 workers at a university were randomly selected for indoor environmental monitoring in Wuhan. Two indicators, formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), and using 139 monitoring points, monitored the indoor environment (including home and workplace) as well as the interior space of the main furniture. This study carried out the environmental quality assessment for TVOC based on the dB index method and the health risk assessment of indoor formaldehyde for the university staff receptors and, then focused on health risk in home environment to carry out detailed environmental health management. The results showed that TVOC in the three types of home spaces exceeded about 80% of the national standard. The excessive formaldehyde ratios for kitchens (79%), bedrooms (77%) and living rooms (74%) were calculated. Formaldehyde health risks all exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency, (USEPA) acceptable risk threshold. The formaldehyde concentrations in workplaces were about 0.03 mg·m −3 . While the risk contribution of the home environment to the total average health risk (0.0014, whether male and female) is about 96%. For the adapted and unadapted persons, 90% and 55% of the monitoring points were located within the long-term tolerable range of TVOC decibel application, respectively. Long-term exposure to such an environment can lead to the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). On the other hand, through comparison of the concentration of pollutants in the interior spaces of furniture and home spaces, it was determined tentatively that the pollutants were mainly concentrated in rarely used furniture. In summary, the air pollution in the studied homes of university staff was much serious than that in workplaces, which showed a need to manage TVOC and formaldehyde pollution by the three means: the purchase of green products, removal of internal pollution from furniture, and creating a good indoor volatile diffusion environment to create a healthy home environment.

Keywords: indoor air; formaldehyde; TVOC; health risk assessment; families (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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