Umweltmeteorologie

1. Umweltmeteorologie Prof. Dr. Otto Klemm 17. Innenraumluftübernommen von Prof. Matschullat, Freiberg

2. Climatology Indoor Pollution • an underestimated problem • Major topics: asbestos, lead, radon, CO, VOC’s, ozone, NOx, formaldehyde, mould, allergenes, “sick building syndrome” (SBS) • Risk factors of indoor climate • sources • physical, chemical and microbiological factors • exposure • Health effects of indoor pollution

3. Climatology Indoor Pollution Risk factors • Complex indoor environment • Multitude of parameters with influence on health and comfort • Interaction between building, its use, and the people who live or work in it • Risk factors are associated with structural conditions • Choice of building design • Building materials • Fittings and furnishings • Building operation and maintenance • Activities within a building • Nature of psycho sociological environment • Objective (scientifically sound) reasons for complaints may be difficult to establish (age, gender, smoking habits, noise, lighting…)

4. Chemical, physical and microbiological factors Climatology Indoor Pollution • Indoor environment is a dynamic “universe”: • Variability of source emissions • Types of different indoor spaces • Different ventilation and climatic conditions • Contaminant sources • Occupants and their activities (bio effluents, tobacco smoking, cooking…) • Building material and furnishing (wall and floor covering, paints, insulation material…) • Processes within buildings (combustion/heating, ventilation/air conditioning, paper processing (photo copying…) • Outdoor contaminants have to be added to these endogenic emissions • Source types • Continuous sources (long-term emissions e.g., from materials) • Discontinuous sources (short-term emissions with variable source strength: most human activities) • Contaminant types • Inorganic and organic gases and vapours and particulates, T, humidity, lighting, noise after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

5. Chemical, physical and microbiological factors Climatology Indoor Pollution after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

6. Climatology Indoor Pollution Microbiological air quality control Technical data sampling rate: 100 L min-1 (standard) volume: 10—10.000 L start delay: 0—59 min volume determination: Thermal mass flow controller size: 200 x 170 x 125mm weight: 2 kg energy: AC/DC price: ca. 2000 € Hospitals, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries; water purification plants, waste disposal sites, homes... Direct sampling on Petri discs, equipped with nutrient bed example from DESAGA (2001) Luftkeimsammler GS 100

7. Climatology Indoor Pollution Outdoor pollutants • Urban atmospheric pollutants • NOx, CO, O3, particles, … • Allergens from soil and vegetation (pollen, spores, ….) • Outdoor mould • Other respirable particles such as pesticides • Radon • One of the most serious environmental carcinogens • Infiltrate from underlying rocks, from building materials, and from groundwater • Pollutants • enter through the ventilation system or infiltrate via the buildings shell permeability • Temporal variation may follow outdoor patterns • May persist longer indoors than outdoors (absorption depending on nature of pollutant, chemical reactivity, air exchange rate, aeraulic conditions around the building, … after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

8. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor pollutants – compounds • Compounds • NOx, CO, O3, particles, … but from indoor sources • VOC’s and SVOC’s (alcanes, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, …) • VOC’s • From building and furniture material (resins, insulation material, material softeners and hardeners, particle boards, textiles, adhesives, caulks, floor covering, …) • From occupants activities and habits (arts and crafts, cigarette smoke, alcohol consumption, cleaning, pets, …) • From household products (cosmetics, cleaning agents, dyes, paints, …) • From microbial growth • Mean concentration of individual VOC’s is usually < 50 µg m-3, most < 5 µg m-3, while TVOC may easily be around 1100 µg m-3; • Homes with gas stoves may have significantly higher CO levels than those with electric stoves after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

9. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor pollutants – T, noise, and light • There is no absolutely right setting of these environmental factors for humans – the individual perception, state of health, and habit define the level of well-being. “Sick-building-syndrome” • Temperature • Even small DT may have a substantial effect for the feeling of heavy-headiness, headache, etc.. An increase of 1 °C from 22 to 23 °C increases this risk due to considerably increased emissions e.g., from materials. • Light • Incorrect lighting, including the use of VDU or computer screens have been understood as a cause for eye irritations and headaches. • Noise • Noise perception depends on its characteristics (unusual frequencies or pure sound) and on circumstances. In general, it is necessary to obtain a noise level through phonical insulation to prevent annoyance and allow for concentrated work. after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

10. Most problematic exposure • Use of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides (for indoor pets or to protect materials or plants) with improper ventilation may lead to acute exposure. Environmentally persistant organochlorine pesticides easily bind to fine particles (respirable) and remain active for long periods of time through continuous resuspension. • Environmental tobacco smoke (mixture of direct intake and indirect intake) is the most important source of indoor aerosols and respirable fine particles. It yields over 4000 chemical compounds (dynamic mix of particles and gases ith iritants, such as acrolein, toxic agents (CO, NOx, ammonia, and HCN), and more than 40 suspected carcinogenic compounds (benzene, benzo-a-pyrene, 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, Ni, and 210Po, …). • Biological agents (bioaerosols) include microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi), toxins from growing organisms and metabolic products (spores, mycelium fragments, dust mites, pet hair, …). Fundamental role of humidity and warmth • Asbestos and mineral fibres from insulation, fire proofing, building boards, vinyl flooring. MMMF (man made mineral fibers) are particularly risky when being installed. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor pollutants – exposure after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

11. Climatology Indoor Pollution Observed indoor air health effects • Due to the diversity of the nature and intensity of indoor air pollution, a large variety of effects can be observed. Many are highly important but remain unnoticed because they escape the senses (micro-organisms, toxic and carcinogenic substances, ionising and non-ionising electromagnetic radiation, radioactive substances). • Acute hazards • Sometimes lethal at short term, like intoxication with carbon monoxide or infection (legionellosis, aspergillosis, tuberculosis) • Allergies with biological origin (dust mites, pet hair …) • Worsen in the presence of other substances like NOx, tobacco smoke etc. • Dissatisfaction, discomfort or stuffiness feelings • Associated with olfactory annoyance, eyes, nose, and throat irritations (often linked with T, humidity, air velocity, bio effluent, tobacco smoke, spores, endotoxins, myco-toxins, and some VOC’s) • Acute long-term hazards • Assessment is much debated like carcinogenic effects (especially lung cancer linked with environmental tobacco smoke, radon, and asbestos), or not well documented such as reproduction and cardiovascular diseases linked to glycol ethers or prolonged exposure to pesticides. after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

12. eyes, skin, and hair larynx trachea and primary bronchia secondary bronchia tertiary bronchia alveoli alveoli Climatology Indoor Pollution Health: the respiratory system Particle deposition in the respiratory system vs. particle diameter after Baumbach (1994) 3.ed.

13. Climatology Indoor Pollution Health: deposition and kinetic clearance Nose-larynx Trachea- Bronchiae Alveolae Stomach-Int.-tract Interstitium Residence half live: 50% cleared in 24 hours 25% cleared in 100 hours 25% cleared in 50 to 100 days Lung-associated Lymph knots after Marquardt & Schäfer (1997) and Perdrix (1998) ERCA 3

14. Climatology Indoor Pollution Health: threshold values • Deposition values of TA Luft • Discontinuous measurement of deposition on 1 km2 area close to emitters. Problems with health related interpretation. Two levels IW1 and IW2. • MIK values by VDI • Time (exposition) based values with emphasis on short term stress. Levels for 0.5 hours and 24 hours, and 1 year. • Smog alarm values by Smog-VO • Two alarm levels with restrictions for polluters (car traffic, production, power plants). Currently less relevant, general approach. • MAK values by DFG • Continous elaboration of threshold values for air borne substances. Maximum value for an 8-hour exposition, and 40 hours working time per week. Values valid for healthy adults only. after Baumbach (1994) 3.ed.

15. Climatology Indoor Pollution Air quality standards after Baumbach (1994) 3.ed.

16. Health impact Severe effects Minor effects • % of people affected death mild disease • cancer discomfort • serious disease annoyance • reduced productivity • > 10 % of population large exposure large exposure • large health impact limited health impact • < 10% of population limited exposure limited exposure • large health impact limited health impact Climatology Indoor Pollution Impact evaluation of indoor pollutants after Kirchner S (1998) ERCA 3

17. Organic compounds in indoor air - occurrence, sampling, analysis Climatology Indoor Pollution Which substances are present? Is a substance X present? How much of X is present? • Active and passive sampling • Passive sampling is best to obtain an overview, to avoid disturbance within living quarters, and to allow for longer cumulative sampling • Active sampling is fast, can be more specific, allows for a quantitative sampling and analysis. • c = K (1 / D t) M With c: concentration (µg m-3), K: sampler specific constant, D: diffusion coefficient (cm2 sec-1), t: exposition time, M: collected mass of substance(µg).D is usually between 0.06 and 0.12 cm2 sec-1 (avg. 0.09 cm2 sec-1) after Seifert et al. (1984)

18. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor air – passive sampling • Passive sampler “gas badge” after Seifert et al. (1984)

19. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor air in Berlin: passive sampling after Seifert et al. (1984)

20. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor air in Berlin: active sampling after Seifert et al. (1984)

21. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor air – active sampling A: living room air B: test chamber with furniture after Seifert et al. (1984)

22. Climatology Indoor Pollution Indoor air – quality trend Toluol time trend after installation of a wall to wall carpet X: active sampling O: passive sampling A: sampling after intense aeration after Seifert et al. (1984)