Indoor air quality in new residential buildings and behaviour of materials in structures

A research project was initiated in order to collect numerical reference data on material emissions during the time of construction and to follow up indoor air quality in new buildings. Seven measurement sites representative of current construction practice in Finland were chosen for investigation. Material emission measurements for surfaces were made during construction using the field and laboratory cell (FLEC) technique. The emission rates for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde and ammonia and the relative humidity of the floor structure were measured for the floor structure build-up stages. In addition, decay behaviour of the emissions of underlying floor structures was investigated. The concentration of VOCs, formaldehyde and ammonia in indoor air and the air exchange rate were defined for the newly finished and 6 month-old buildings. The results were compared to indoor air concentration and emission rate target values defined in the Finnish "Classification of Indoor Climate 2000"