ABSTRACT


Emission Characteristics of Formaldehyde & VOCs from Newly Constructed and Remodel Education Buildings.


Seong-Su Kim

Department of Environmental Engineering,
The Gradute School of Venture,
Hoseo University
Seoul , Korea

(Supervised by professor Dea-Woo Park )


We measured formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds among pollutants released from indoors of kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and highschool newly built and remodeled within three years in Seoul city and analysed their characteristics of release. Upon the result of analyse, we plan to contribute to maintenance and management of indoor environment for the protection of health of students and school personnel and its improvement by preparing effective management along with their characteristics.
Summary of main results of the research are as follows.
Upon result of measuring firstly educational facilities in newly built or remodeled, toluene is the most item but benzene is the least one. Contribution rate of each volatile organic compound to total volatile compounds is showing the order like toluene>xylene>ethylbenzene> styrene>benzene. It is the same result as one in the result of existing researcher. Formaldehyde has been checked more in remodeled classroom rather than newly built one and volatile organic compound has been shown more in newly built classroom. This state may be caused by the difference of finishing material used and building materials.
Upon result of analyzing correlation of pollutants, correlation coefficient(r) of total volatile organic compounds is very high 0.885 and one(r) of formaldehyde and benzene is very low 0.033.

In general schools, volatile organic compounds were shown highly and formaldehyde and ethylbenzene have been highly generated in kindergarten. These results has come from differences of environmental conditions of kindergarten and school.

Concentration of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds has been checked highly in special classroom. It is recommended that some countermeasures should be taken to decrease concentration of pollutants in special classrooms which have been designed differently from general classrooms in type, dimension, building finishing material and teaching material.

In case of formaldehyde, concentration had been shown highly on the day of opening school, September, 2013(1.5th years) but for another opening days, it has been shown evenly. In case of volatile organic compounds, high concentration of total volatile organic compounds, toluene and xylene had been checked relatively
in object facilities on opening day, March of 2014(1st year).
Upon the result of measuring mean concentration character of same object facilities at interval of 2-3months,

Formaldehyde has been increased at 2nd measuring rather than first measuring. Volatile organic compounds, had been decreased at every measuring period. Total volatile organic compounds had been highly decreased than ones in 1st and 2nd measurement. It is considered that those phenomena had been caused by bakeout
activity which can improve indoor environment in short period.

Upon those results, as half-life of formaldehyde is longer than one of volatile organic compounds, it would be discharged continuously from building material, finishing material, desks and teaching material which needs continuous control measures.