Self-reported health and comfort in 'modern' office buildings : first results from the European OFFICAIR study

In the European research project OFFICAIR, a procedure was developed to determine associations between characteristics of European offices and health and comfort of office workers, through a checklist and a self-administered questionnaire including environmental, physiological, psychological, and social aspects. This procedure was applied in 167 office buildings in eight European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Finland) during the winter of 2011-2012. About 26\ua0735 survey invitation e-mails were sent, and 7441 office workers were included in the survey. Among respondents who rated an overall comfort less than 4 (23%), 'noise (other than from building systems)', air 'too dry', and temperature 'too variable' were the main complaints selected. An increase of perceived control over indoor climate was positively associated with the perceived indoor environment quality. Almost one-third of office workers suffered from dry eyes and headache in the last 4\ua0weeks. Physical building characteristics were associated with occupants' overall satisfaction (acoustical solutions, mold growth, complaints procedure, cleaning activities) and health (number of occupants, lack of operable windows, presence of carpet and cleaning activities). OFFICAIR project provides a useful database to identify stressors related to indoor environmental quality and office worker's health

Spatial and seasonal variation of nitrogen dioxide and ozone in modern office buildings

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Assessment of indoor air quality in office buildings across Europe - The Officair study

The European project OFFICAIR aimed to broaden the existing knowledge regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in modern office buildings, i.e., recently built or refurbished buildings. Thirty-seven office buildings participated in the summer campaign (2012), and thirty-five participated in the winter campaign (2012−2013). Four roomswere investigated per building. The target pollutantswere twelve volatile organic compounds, seven aldehydes, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulatematterwith aerodynamic diameter b2.5 μm(PM2.5). Compared to other studies in office buildings, the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene concentrations were lower in OFFICAIR buildings, while the α-pinene and D-limonene concentrations were higher, and the aldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 concentrations were of the same order of magnitude. When comparing summer and winter, significantly higher concentrations were measured in summer for formaldehyde and ozone, and in winter for benzene, α-pinene, D-limonene, and nitrogen dioxide. The terpene and 2-ethylhexanol concentrations showed heterogeneitywithin buildings regardless of the season. Considering the average of the summer andwinter concentrations, the acetaldehyde and hexanal concentrations tended to increase by 4–5% on averagewith every floor level increase, and the nitrogen dioxide concentration tended to decrease by 3% on averagewith every floor level increase. A preliminary evaluation of IAQ in terms of potential irritative and respiratory health effects was performed. The 5-day median and maximum indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde and ozone did not exceed their respective WHO air quality guidelines, and those of acrolein, α-pinene, and D-limonene were lower than their estimated thresholds for irritative and respiratory effects. PM2.5 indoor concentrations were higher than the 24-h and annual WHO ambient air quality guideline

VOCs and aldehydes source identification in European office buildings - The OFFICAIR study

21sinoneIndoor air quality (IAQ) measurements were carried out in two field campaigns (summer and winter) in European office buildings (approximately 140 office rooms) in eight countries, as part of the EU-funded OFFICAIR project. A source identification study was performed with principal component analysis (varimax rotation) on a database containing volatile organic compound (VOC) and aldehyde concentration data during summer and winter monitoring campaigns. The common indoor and outdoor sources of VOCs and aldehydes were identified through a critical evaluation based on checklist data and knowledge of material and product emissions from the literature. The dominant source of variance, accounting for 29% and 26% of the explained variance in the summer and winter campaigns, respectively, was attributed to the ingress of outdoor air into indoor environments. The other most relevant sources for variance were directly or indirectly associated with building materials, such as flooring materials (in particular carpets), wood-based products and various types of paint. Ozone-initiated indoor air chemistry played a key role only during summer, in which a specific source linked to ozone-initiated reactions was clearly identified. Other indoor sources explained less than 10% of the variance, such as printer emissions in both campaigns and cleaning products in winter.Campagnolo, Davide; Saraga, Dikaia E.; Cattaneo, Andrea; Spinazzè, Andrea; Mandin, Corinne; Mabilia, Rosanna; Perreca, Erica; Sakellaris, Ioannis; Canha, Nuno; Mihucz, Victor G.; Szigeti, Tamás; Ventura, Gabriela; Madureira, Joana; de Oliveira Fernandes, Eduardo; de Kluizenaar, Yvonne; Cornelissen, Eric; Hänninen, Otto; Carrer, Paolo; Wolkoff, Peder; Cavallo, Domenico M.; Bartzis, John G.Campagnolo, Davide; Saraga, Dikaia E.; Cattaneo, Andrea; Spinazzè, Andrea; Mandin, Corinne; Mabilia, Rosanna; Perreca, Erica; Sakellaris, Ioannis; Canha, Nuno; Mihucz, Victor G.; Szigeti, Tamás; Ventura, Gabriela; Madureira, Joana; de Oliveira Fernandes, Eduardo; de Kluizenaar, Yvonne; Cornelissen, Eric; Hänninen, Otto; Carrer, Paolo; Wolkoff, Peder; Cavallo, DOMENICO MARIA GUIDO; Bartzis, John G