Page 7 - EN_Indoor-Air-Quality-Service-lores

NEW BUILDINGS

Chemicals are often used in new buildings to provide technical
qualities for the materials. These include fire retardants used in
textiles. Many materials used indoors, such as sound insulation
boards, release fibrous particles that can cause various symptoms.

Buildings, furniture and fittings can also contain glues, chipboard,
fillers, paints, laminates, varnish and sealants with a range of
chemical compounds. These materials release VOC’s; gaseous
compounds known as aldehydes, which can cause symptoms
and even health problems. In terms of indoor air quality, the smell
of a new building does not always clean.

RENOVATION SITES

Poor indoor air quality in old buildings often manifests itself as a
stuffy smell caused by microbes growing on structures affected
by excess moisture. Mould spores are airborne and can enter
the body through breathing and cause respiratory diseases.
Air humidifiers and coolers can provide a breeding ground for
hazardous bacteria if the water in them is not recycled and boiled.

Impurities in outdoor air, such as pollen, are brought inside by
ventilation systems or through leaking windows. Traffic pollutants,
including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, soot and nitrogen
oxides, are a problem in city centres. Design flaws in buildings,
such as a waste air outlet from a garage located too close to a
supply air vent, can result in hazardous compounds entering the
building.

In old buildings, problems can also be caused by dust collecting
in ventilation pipes and structures.

WORKPLACES, GYMS

Gaseous, particle-like impurities are also produced by processes
such as photocopying and cleaning.

People also pollute indoor air themselves by producing many
ill-smelling secretory products that are released into air through
breathing or sweating, and by spreading bacteria and viruses via
direct or indirect contact. For example, at gyms human-originated
viruses and bacteria spread via air and touch, causing health
hazards. This is, for example, how influenza epidemics spread.