Chemical Contaminants

• nPrinters and copiers emit VOCs, including formaldehyde, as well as particulates, nitrogen oxides, and ozone (older equipment)

  • dominant VOCs: ethylbenzene, xylenes, styrene

• Occupants themselves

  • VOCs in exhaled breath: an “important indoor source”

    • typically: isoprene, acetone, ethanol, methanol, other alcohols

      • See: J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. 49:594-598 (May 1999)

  • dry-cleaning solvents on clothing

  • personal care products

• Cleaning and maintenance products sometimes dominate

• Furnishings, finishes

  • carpet, sheet goods, paints, varnish/shellac, manufactured wood products, GWB joint compound, adhesives, caulks

• Art and science classrooms, shops, copier rooms

  • local control, pressure relationships are critical

• Carbon monoxide and other criteria pollutants, radon, pesticides