Prof. Byeong-Kyu Lee, Ph.D.

Do-Soon Kim, Yoo-Sik Ham

University of Ulsan, Ulsan 680-749, Korea

Ulsan Institute of Health & Environment , Korea

Prof. Byeong-Kyu Lee, Ph.D.

Do-Soon Kim, Yoo-Sik Ham

University of Ulsan, Ulsan 680-749, Korea

Ulsan Institute of Health & Environment , Korea

Analysis of VOCs and Carbonyls in the

Classrooms of Elementary Schools in

Ulsan, Korea

Ø Most of people spend approximately 85 – 90 % of their life time indoors

including houses, offices, schools, traffic vehicles, and even

underground facilities.

Ø We didn’t realize the importance of IAQ until SBS (Sick Building

Syndrome) was reported in 1970.

Ø School classrooms are also important indoor facilities that a lot of

young students can be exposed to high concentrations of pollutants

(VOCs, HCHO)

Backgrounds and ObjectivesBackgrounds and Objectives

1

Integrated IAQ Management in KoreaIntegrated IAQ Management in Korea

IAAQ ACT of public facilities

Art gallery, Library, etc.

(Public sanitary management ACT)

Wedding hall, Gymnasium

Integrated IAQIntegrated IAQ : : 17 group facilities17 group facilities

≪≪≪≪Ministry of Construction≫≫≫≫

Parking lots

≪≪≪≪sub act≫≫≫≫ adding 5 facilities

Funeral, Nursing facilities, etc.

≪≪≪≪Ministry of labor≫≫≫≫

Workplace office

Safety & Health law

≪≪≪≪Ministry of education, science and technology≫≫≫≫

Schools

School law

2

IAQ Standards in KoreaIAQ Standards in Korea

DepartmentDepartment

ItemsItemsMinistry of Ministry of

EnvironmentEnvironmentMinistry of Ministry of

LaborLaborMinistry of education, Ministry of education,

science and technologyscience and technology

PM10 (㎍㎍㎍㎍/㎥㎥㎥㎥) 100~200 150 100

CO (ppm) 10~25 10 10

CO2 (ppm) 1000 1000 1000

NO2 (ppm) 0.05~0.3 - 0.05

HCHO (㎍㎍㎍㎍/㎥㎥㎥㎥) 100 0.1ppm 100

Total Suspended Bacteria (CFU/㎥㎥㎥㎥)

800 - 800

Radon (pCi/L) 4 - 4

VOCs (㎍㎍㎍㎍/㎥㎥㎥㎥) 400~1000 - 400

Asbestos (piece/cc) 0.01 - 0.01

O3 (ppm) 0.06~0.08 - 0.06

Mite (No./㎥㎥㎥㎥) - - 100

Falling germ

(CFU/class room)- - 10

3

Carcinogenic Category in IARCCarcinogenic Category in IARC

Name Category Classification Items

IARC

Group 1 Human CarcinogenBenzene, Asbestos

Group

2A Probable Human Carcinogen Formaldehyde

2B Possible Human CarcinogenAcetaldehyde, Chloroform,

Styrene

Group 3No Classifiable as to Human

Carcinogenity

Group 4No Evidence of Carcinogenicity in

Human

7

Typical Classroom in Elementary Schools

Construction Construction

AgeAgeConstruction Construction

YearYearNo. of No. of

schoolsschoolsLower/Higher Lower/Higher

school yearschool yearTotal: Total: 28 28

classroomsclassrooms

Newly BuiltNewly Built 20072007 22 2 / 22 / 2 88

3 to 5 years3 to 5 years 2003 2003 -- 20052005 33 2 / 22 / 2 1212

above 10 above 10

yearsyears1972, 19861972, 1986 22 2 / 22 / 2 88

8

Study Areas Study Areas andand SamplingSampling

Þ Sampling period: Spring (April), Summer(July), Winter(Nov., Dec.)

Þ 6 Aldehydes and Ketones (Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acetone,

Propionaldehyde, MethylEthylKetone, Acrolein)

Þ 5 VOCs (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, m,p-Xylene, Styrene)

Lower school year (1Lower school year (1stst & 2& 2ndnd) on 1&2 F and Higher school year (5) on 1&2 F and Higher school year (5thth & 6& 6thth) on 4&5 F.) on 4&5 F.

Newly Built SchoolsNewly Built Schools

AgeSchool Name

Open-ing year

gradeClass-room

FloorDirec-tion

Floor material

Cooling/Heating system

Number of desk

No. of students(girl/boy)

note

Newly Buit

A 2007

lower

A1 1st South wood A/C 26 13/13

A2 1st S wood A/C 26 14/12

higher

A3 5th S wood A/C 28 12/15

A4 5th S wood A/C 28 11/17

B 2007

lower

B1 1st S wood A/C 37 19/18

B2 1st S wood A/C 37 17/20

higher

B3 4th S wood A/C 32 16/16

B4 4th S wood A/C 32 14/18 30.8

13

Air conditioner (A/C), Fan, Oil Stove and HeaterAir conditioner (A/C), Fan, Oil Stove and Heater

17

Classroom EnvironmentClassroom Environment

20

Sampling and Analysis of VOCs and CarbonylsSampling and Analysis of VOCs and Carbonyls

12

Results and DiscussionResults and Discussion

Temperature, Humidity and PressureTemperature, Humidity and Pressure

Item Spring Summer Winter

Temperature (℃℃℃℃)

Avg. 19 26 20

Newly built 20 25 20

3 to 5 years 19 25 19

Over 10 years 20 28 20

Lower grade 19 26 20

Higher grade 20 26 19

Relative Humidity

(%)

Avg. 46 61 33

Newly built 54 60 32

3 to 5 years 45 61 32

Over 10 years 48 62 34

Lower grade 49 66 32

Higer grade 48 55 34

Pressure (mmHg) Avg 753 746 76121

Carbonyls and VOCs of School Classrooms (unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍/㎥㎥㎥㎥,

n=84) Compounds mean S.D. median min max

Formaldehyde 44.9 43.7 32.3 10.1 335.2

Acetaldehyde 7.2 6.1 6.1 1.7 55.1

Acetone 39.4 36.8 29.4 3.4 285.0

Acrolein 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Propionaldehyde 1.3 1.7 1.1 0.0 11.6

MEK 11.9 16.6 5.8 0.0 88.6

Benzene 3.5 3.2 2.4 0.0 14.3

Toluene 93.8 92.0 56.0 7.4 357.2

Ehtylbenzene 14.8 14.9 11.2 1.27 85.7

m,p-xylene 15.5 12.7 11.6 1.5 50.5

styrene 6.2 10.6 3.4 0.0 61.8

22

Carbonyls and VOCs Carbonyls and VOCs (unit: (unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84) , n=84)

Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene m,p-Xylene Styrene

0

100

200

300

400

VOCs

FA AA Acetone PA MEK

§¶/§

©

0

100

200

300

400

Aldehydes

23

Carbonyls & VOCs Conc. by construction ageCarbonyls & VOCs Conc. by construction age ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, ,

n=84n=84) ) Compounds

Newly built 3~5 years over 10 years

Mean ±SD Mean ±SD Mean ±SD

Formaldehyde 65.3±68.3 40.7±27.8 31.0±19.9

Acetaldehyde 10.0±10.3 6.3±3.1 5.8±2.1

Acetone 66.8±58.1 31.0±13.2 24.7±10.7

Acrolein 0.0±0.0 0.0±0.0 0.0±0.0

Propion aldehyde 2.0±2.5 1.1±1.1 0.7±0.9

Methyl Ethyl Ketone 29.3±23.0 5.0±3.5 4.9±2.7

Benzene 2.8±1.8 3.7±3.3 3.7±4.0

Toluene 182.6±116.0 65.0±61.3 67.0±63.5

Ehtyl Benzene 24.6±20.6 14.2±11.8 8.0±9.2

m,p-Xylene 26.1±13.5 11.7±8.3 13.0±13.3

Styrene 16.0±17.9 4.4±3.9 1.3±1.5

24

Concentrations by Built AgeConcentrations by Built Age ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

Aldehydes

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

FA AA Acetone Acrolein PA MEK

㎍/㎥

new3- 5 yearsover 10 years

VOCs

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

200.0

Benzene Toluene E-Benzene m,p- Xylene Styrene

㎍/㎥

new3-5 yearsover 10 years

26

Percentage of Carbonyls & VOCs Percentage of Carbonyls & VOCs ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

Percentage of Aldeydes

MEK11%

PA1%

AA7%

Acrolein0%

FA43%

Acetone38%

Percentage of VOCs

Toluene69%

E- Benzene11%

m,p- Xylene12%

Styrene5% Benzene

3%

25

Seasonal Concentrations Seasonal Concentrations ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

CompoundsSpring Summer Winter

mean±SD mean±SD mean±SD

Formaldehyde 37.9±16.5 79.5±59.3 17.4±4.0

Acetaldehyde 7.4±2.2 9.4±9.9 4.8±1.4

Acetone 39.5±22.2 44.1±52.7 34.6±29.0

Acrolein 0.0±0.0 0.0±0.0 0.0±0.0

Propionaldehyde 1.8±0.8 1.9±2.4 0.2±0.5

Methyl Ethyl Ketone 16.9±23.3 13.2±15.3 5.6±2.9

Benzene 2.5±1.0 1.2±0.7 6.8±3.5

Toluene 88.5±79.7 115.0±124.5 76.6±54.4

Ehtyl Benzene 7.5±47 16.6±20.2 19.5±12.3

m,p-xylene 13.6±9.6 8.9±10.1 24.1±13.1

styrene 4.0±5.3 10.4±164 3.9±2.9

27

Seasonal Conc. ComparisonSeasonal Conc. Comparison ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

Aldehydes

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

FA AA Acetone Ac rolein PA MEK

㎍/㎥

springsummerwinter

VOCs

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

Benzene Toluene E- Benzene m,p- Xylene Styrene

㎍/㎥

springsummerwinter

28

Total VOCs by seasonal Total VOCs by seasonal ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

VOCs

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

200.0

Spring Summer Winter

㎍/㎥

Benzene Toluene E-Benzene m,p- Xylene Styrene29

Concentration by grade Concentration by grade ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, ,

n=84n=84) )

*indicates that lower grade and upper grade are significantly different at a level of 0.05

CompoundsLower grades Higher grades p-

value

(High

/Low)mean S.D. mean S.D

Formaldehyde 40.5 24.7 49.3 56.8 0.228 1.2

Acetaldehyde 5.7 2.2 8.7 8.2 0.011 1.5*

Acetone 31.6 21.1 47.2 46.5 0.027 1.5*

Acrolein 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - -

Propionaldehyde 1.1 1.2 1.5 2.0 0.195 1.3

Methyl Ethyl Ketone 9.5 10.6 14.3 20.9 0.019 1.5*

Benzene 3.6 3.5 3.4 2.9 0.725 0.9

Toluene 85.5 89.9 103.28 94.9 0.157 1.21

Ehtyl Benzene 10.7 9.4 19.47 18.5 0.001 1.8*

m,p-xylene 13.0 11.8 18.45 13.3 0.001 1.4*

styrene 3.0 2.8 10.00 14.5 0.004 3.4*

30

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level(2-tailed). * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level(2-tailed).

Aldehyde FA AA Acetone PA M E K Temp RH

Form Al 1.000

Acet Al .840(**) 1.000

Acetone .666(**) .795(**) 1.000

Propion Al .761(**) .797(**) .639(**) 1.000

MEK .468(**) .479(**) .525(**) .431(**) 1.000

Temp .479(**) .201 .044 .214 .041 1.000

RH .481(**) .194 .062 .407(**) .233(*) .611(**) 1.000

CorrelationsCorrelations of Carbonyls of Carbonyls ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

31

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level(2-tailed). * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level(2-tailed).

CorrelationsCorrelations of VOCs of VOCs ((unit: unit: ㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍㎍//㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥㎥, n=84, n=84) )

BenzeneToluene Ethylbenzene

m,p-

XyleneStyrene Temp RH

Benzene 1.000

Toluene .121 1.000

Ethylbenzene .232(*) .644(**) 1.000

m,p-Xylene .239(*) .643(**) .544(**) 1.000

Styrene -.213(*) .612(**) .760(**) .606(**) 1.000

Temp .054 .078 -.328(**) -.025 .078 1.000

RH -.077 .126 -.150 -.354(**) -.140 .198 1.000

32

ConclusionsConclusions

As the As the construction age construction age of schools increases, the concentrations of schools increases, the concentrations

of the aldehydes and ketones in the classrooms of the aldehydes and ketones in the classrooms decreasedecrease..

The mean values of formaldehyde and benzene were 44.9 and 3.5 The mean values of formaldehyde and benzene were 44.9 and 3.5 μμμμμμμμg/mg/m33, resp. , resp.

The The highest highest concentrations of concentrations of aldehydes, ketones, toluene and aldehydes, ketones, toluene and

styrenstyrene were observed in e were observed in summer summer sampling periods followed sampling periods followed

by spring and winter, in turn.by spring and winter, in turn.

33

ConclusionsConclusions

The concs of the The concs of the aldehydes and ketones and the VOCs aldehydes and ketones and the VOCs (ethybenzene, (ethybenzene,

m,pm,p--xylenes, styrene) in the xylenes, styrene) in the higher gradehigher grade classrooms were classrooms were 1.2~1.5 1.2~1.5

and 1.4~3.4 times, and 1.4~3.4 times, respectively, as high as those in the respectively, as high as those in the low grade low grade

ones.ones.

To get good IAQ for classrooms, proper ventilation should be done periodically.

34