This document discusses VOC emissions from construction materials and their effect on indoor air quality. It begins with definitions of VOCs and an overview of factors that can affect indoor air quality, including emissions from construction materials. It then discusses primary emissions from new materials and how indoor air quality is affected during the initial decay period after construction. Secondary emissions that occur over longer periods due to chemical degradation of materials are also reviewed, along with some case studies of materials like carpets and wood preservatives that have caused indoor air quality problems. The document provides information on analyzing VOC emissions and strategies to prevent indoor air quality issues from construction materials.

1. VOC emissions from construction
materials and their effect on
indoor air quality
Jenni Lehtinen
WSP Finland Oy
Indoor air laboratory, Jyväskylä, Finland
IAQ 22.6.2020

2. Content of presentation
-brief review of VOCs
-introduction to indoor air laboratory
-VOCs in construction materials
-Primary emissions
-Secondary emissions
-Cases of material emissions causing indoor air quality problems
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VOC emissions from construction materials and
their effect on indoor air quality

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Factors effecting Indoor air quality
Outdoor emissions through ventilation
Emissions from ducts
Emissions from
surface and
construction
materials (paints,
flooring, roofing,
plasters, cement,
concrete,
insulations via air
leaks etc.)
(large areas)
Emissions from
parfumes, hair and
hygiene products,
biogenic emissions,
cooking, wastes
Emissions of
household
chemicals
Emissions from
furniture and
devices, toys
(textiles, plastic
products etc.)
Gaseous emissions,
particle emissions
physical factors

4. — Definition and classification:
— Wide variation of carbon based compounds containing also oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur,
halogens, silica etc. in their structure (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide for
example)
— alcohols, alkanes, alkenes, ketones, aldehydes, thiols, sulphides, amines, amides,
acids, terpenes, aromatics
— Classification (according to WHO 1989):
— VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), boiling points below 240-260 C (elutes
between hexane and hexadecane in GC (ISO 16 000:6)
— VVOCs (very volatile organic compounds) boiling points below 50-60 C
— SVOCS (semivolatile organic compounds), boiling points between 250-380 C
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VOCs

5. — Effects on indoor air quality and residents/workers
— Odour problems and discomfort (several compounds, several sources, for
example carboxylic acids, aldehydes)
— Irritation of skin, mucous membranes, headache (for example formaldehyde,
sources: plywood, some textiles, laquers, short term effects)
— Neurotoxicity (for example styrene, sources: polystyrene, water insulator
materials, long term exposure)
— Carcinogeneity/mutageneity (for example benzene, source: typically traffic
fumes, tobacco smoke)
— Indoor air guidelines
— National guidelines for indoor air quality and limit values for some individual
compounds and TVOC are available in several countries
— WHO Guidelines for indoor air quality-selected pollutants
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VOCs in indoor air

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Indoor air laboratory
Analysis methods of VOCs: main method TD-GC-MSD (in
picture)
Microchamber for material sampling in microscale
VOC air sampling pump and Tenax-tube FLEC emission chamber for VOC emission field measurements from surfaces

7. — Emissions from materials can be divided into two categories:
primary emissions and
secondary emissions
— Primary emissions
— Emissions from new materials
— Influence to indoor air quality during the initial decay period after construction
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VOCs in construction materials

8. — Usually indoor air TVOC-concentration lowers and stabilises
during 6-24 months after construction/renovation
— Typically rapid decline in few weeks, then slower decay rate up
to 2 years(1
— Emission rates of different compounds are influenced by for example
ventilation, temperature, humidity
— In Finland, limit of TVOC in indoor air is 400 µg/m3 for households (regulation
545/2015) and 100 µg/m3 for office indoor air (Institute of Occupational Health
guidelines)
— Few limits for selected single VOCs
1) Sverre B. Holøs et al., ”VOC emission rates in newly built and renovated buildings, and the influence of ventilation – a review and
meta-analysis”. International Journal of Ventilation, 2019, Vol. 18, Iss. 3.
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VOCs in construction materials, primary emissions

9. — Careful design and selection of low emission materials may
prevent VOC issues later
— CE, national labels for some products, for example in Finland M-classification
— testing for new construction materials (primary emissions tested in laboratory,
VOCs, TVOC, ammonia and formaldehyde is tested, also sensory evaluation in
M-classification)
— Emissions from furnitures, toys and daily actions in indoors can
be similar with emissions from construction materials
— Sometimes complicated to separate the source, for example TXIB or 2-ethyl-1-
hexanol could be found in construction materials, but also in some plastic toys
or other plastic products
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VOCs in construction materials

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Typical emissions from different materials
Sources:
WSP Finland Oy Indoor Air laboratory reference database 2020,
Mayer et al. In: Organic Indoor Air Pollutants 2nd edition 2009, eds. Salthammer, T. and Uhde, E.
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, references 2006
Material Typical VOCs
PVC carpet Alcohols (1-butanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, C9-alcohols), aliphatic hydrocarbons, TXIB, longifolene
Linoleum carpet organic acids, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, aliphatic hydrocarbons, furanes
Gypsum benzaldehyde, other aldehydes, traces of sulphides, ketones
Plasters alcohols, alkanes, esters
Plywood aldehydes (for example hexanal, possibly formaldehyde), ketones
Parquet toluene, xylenes (from lacques), terpenes,
Wood panels terpenes (alpha-pinene from pine especially) aldehydes (hexanal)
Laminate flooring aldehydes, terpenes
Textile carpets aliphatic hydrocarbons, phenol, caprolactam, aldehydes (formaldehyde possibly)
Corck tiles aliphatic hydrocarbons, phenol, organic acids
Vinyl tiles esters (triethyl phosphate), aliphatic hydrocarbons, ketones
Paints Glycols, glycol esters (Texanol, TXIB)
Varnishes esters, glycols and glycol esters
Adhesives, glues alcohols (1-butanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol), glycols, glycol esters, esters, phenols
Rubber materials thiols (benzothiazole)
Creosote PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphtene, fluorene etc. )
Insulation materials Siloxane based: siloxanes, pyrrolidinones
PUR/PIR: isocyanates, amines during the application (not seen in standard VOC-analysis ISO 16000-
6:2011)
Polystyrene: styrene
Water insulation: glycols, styrene, alcohols

11. — Secondary emissions
— chemical or physical degradation of materials
— hydrolysis during moisture damage
— oxidation
— mechanical wear
— wrong maintenance etc.
— Effects on indoor air quality are shown in some years-decades
after installation, emissions are not always predictable
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VOCs in construction materials

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Typical example of secondary emission studies in
indoor air laboratory
Floorings
— PVC-carpets and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol
— Hydrolysis of acrylate adhesives and ethyl hexyl phtalates (DEHP) used as the
plasticizers in PVC releases 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, Alkaline moisture initiates the
reaction
— Consequence: elevated 2-ethyl-1-hexanol concentrations in indoor air, lower
indoor air quality (odour, irritation effects)
— Elevated concentration of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol in indoor air is used as an indicator
of moisture problems in PVC flooring
— indoor air concentration of 10 µg/m3 (toluene equivalent) is used as a threshold
value for further investigation in Finland
— Unclear, is the 2-ethyl-1-hexanol a direct cause of health effects or is it just an
indicator of a problem

13. — Textile carpet case
— Very broad range of different types of carpets
— Usually quite low emissions after primary decay of VOCs
— However:
— Few cases in our laboratory:
— Newly installed carpet (office building) started to smell like cow and barn
after rainy autumn weather when people walked on the carpet with wet
shoes
— Our laboratory tests showed small amounts of p-methylphenol (p-cresol)
in the indoor air VOC-sample and in the carpet VOC-material sample
— P-cresol odour is foul, phenolic and like barn and its odour threshold is
0,005 µg/m3
— Possible theory: some flame retardant compounds did not tolerate
moisture and degraded, one degradation product being p-cresol
— or moisture itself enhanced the emission of p-cresol from the carpet
material
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Example of indoor air problem case study in
laboratory

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Example of indoor air problem case study in
laboratory
Carpet sample
Total Ion Chromatogram (TIC) of the carpet sample
Zoom from TIC
P-cresol
(odorous
compound)

15. — Wood product preservatives (Chlorophenols)
— Chlorophenols were used as wood preservatives (during years 1930-1990 in
Finland)
— They may degrade and transform to very odorous chloroanisols (microbial
degradation/transformation). This usually takes 15-30 years and moisture
damage accelerates the process.
— Chloroanisols are very odorous, odour thresholds are well below 1 µg/m3, even at
0,01 µg/m3.
— Odour is musty, corky. Odour is often linked with mold issues, but it is not usually
indicating major problems with dampness or mold
— Concentrations are low, toxicologically not detrimental, but perceived odour
causes discomfort and diminishes indoor air quality
— Can be measured with TD-GC-MSD, but concentrations often very low, below
detection limit in standard analysis, Larger volumes should be sampled to
detect odorous chloroanisols
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Typical example of secondary emission odour
problem in indoor air

16. — Linoleum
— Wearing off or too wet cleaning/wrong cleaning agents may cause degradation
of linoleum material
— Degradation products are perceived in indoor air as an unpleasant odour and
discomfort
— Lower indoor air quality is due to different carbocylic acids, especially acetic
acid, propanoic acid and hexanoic acid and aldehydes like hexanal, octanal,
nonanal
— These compounds have low odour threshold concentrations and especially
carboxylic acids are malodorous (propanoic acid is pungent, rancid)
— Also increase of different alcohols, and ketones is seen in material emission
sample taken from an old/ incorrectly maintained lino
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Typical example of secondary emission case in
indoor air laboratory

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Thank you!