assessing and controlling risks from the emission of organic chemicals from construction products...

Environmental ScienceProcesses & Impacts

PERSPECTIVE

Institute of Environment and Health (IEH), C

UK. E-mail: [email protected]

Cite this: Environ. Sci.: ProcessesImpacts, 2013, 15, 2164

Received 31st July 2013Accepted 24th October 2013

DOI: 10.1039/c3em00413a

rsc.li/process-impacts

2164 | Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2

Assessing and controlling risks from the emission oforganic chemicals from construction products intoindoor environments

Veronica M. Brown, Derrick R. Crump* and Paul T. C. Harrison

Construction products can be a significant source of indoor pollutants, including volatile organic

compounds that may be a risk to the health and well-being of building occupants. There are currently a

number of schemes for the labelling of products according to their potential to emit organic

compounds. Assessment of the complex mixtures of compounds that may be released has mandated

the development of test methods that allow the determination of the concentrations of the chemicals

released from products in controlled test chamber environments. In response to concerns about the

financial burden faced by manufacturers required to test products according to the various different

labelling schemes currently in existence, the European Commission has investigated the scope for

greater harmonisation. This initiative has sought to harmonise the process for the assessment of

emissions data, complementing work led by the European standards organisation focussed on

harmonising the test chamber procedures. The current labelling schemes have a range of requirements

with respect to the number of chemicals to be quantified. A comparison of 13 schemes worldwide has

identified 15 lists of target compounds, with a total of 611 chemicals occurring on at least one of the

target lists. While harmonisation may clarify and perhaps simplify these requirements, at least in Europe,

it can be expected that future changes to product formulations, the introduction of new products and

our increasing knowledge about the potential risks to health, will require continued development of

new and improved measurement techniques. There is, therefore, a particular challenge for analytical

chemists to ensure the efficient provision of high quality emissions data and thereby ultimately enable

effective control of risks to human health through the prevention or reduction of indoor air pollution.

Environmental impact

Air pollution poses a risk to the health of the entire population, and exposure – particularly of sensitive groups such as the elderly, the very young and thosesuffering illness – occurs mostly indoors. The quality of indoor air depends both on the level of pollutants outdoors and the sources of pollution within theinternal space. Construction products are an important source of some pollutants such as volatile organic compounds. This paper describes internationalinitiatives to develop standards for the measurement and assessment of such emissions. These advances should assist manufacturers, test laboratories andregulators to ensure effective control of product emissions and provision of salient information to consumers, and thereby benet public health.

Introduction

Air quality policies within Europe have mainly focussed oncontrolling the concentrations of pollutants in outdoor airresulting from industrial processes, traffic and the generation ofheat and power.1 While outdoor air pollution remains an issue,indoor air pollution has increasingly been recognised as asignicant cause for concern. Reasons for this are that a widerange of sources of pollutants can occur within buildings, andrates of exchange with outdoor air can be insufficient to preventelevated levels of pollutants in indoor air. Also, much of our

raneld University, Craneld, MK43 0AL,

013, 15, 2164–2177

time is spent indoors; in many parts of the world this canamount to more than 90%, and therefore our exposure to airpollutants occurs mostly indoors.2

Climate change could also have a signicant adverse effecton indoor air quality (IAQ). Changes in outdoor concentrationsof pollutants such as ozone, resulting from alterations inatmospheric chemistry or atmospheric circulation, could affectindoor concentrations. Also some mitigation and adaptationmeasures, such as greater use of insulation and increasedairtightness of building structures to increase energy efficiency,could reduce ventilation rates in buildings resulting in higherconcentrations of internally generated pollutants.3,4

A large number of indoor air pollutants have the potential toadversely affect the health and well-being of building

This journal is ª The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013

Perspective Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

occupants. These can be broadly classed as gases, vapours, andparticulates (including biological particulates). While they maybe present in the outdoor air entering a building there is also awide range of internal sources such as building and furnishingmaterials, combustion appliances and consumer products thatcan produce concentrations in indoor air considerablyexceeding those outdoors.5 One important type of pollutant towhich people are exposed through inhalation of indoor air andinadvertent ingestion of settled dust are organic compounds.Without appropriate control these have the potential to cause awide range of health effects ranging from irritation to moresevere symptoms associated with systemic toxicity, as well asincreased risks of chronic diseases including cancer.

Depending on their volatility, organic chemicals in indoorair are either present in the gas phase or are bound to sus-pended particulate matter or deposited dust. In 1989 the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) classied organic compoundsbased on boiling point.6 According to this classication,compounds with boiling points lower than �50 to 100 �C aredescribed as very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs) andthose with boiling points above �240 to 260 �C are described assemi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs).

An effective means of controlling the level of exposure toorganic chemicals in buildings is to prevent emissions fromsources occurring at a rate that can produce a concentration ofpollutants in the indoor air that presents an unacceptable riskto occupant health. Construction products are an importantsource of such emissions and therefore have been the target of anumber of national and international initiatives to control therelease of potentially hazardous substances. There are currentlya number of schemes for labelling products according to theirpotential emission of organic compounds to indoor air.Assessment of the complex mixtures of chemicals that may bereleased has required the development of standardisedmethods of testing involving the determination of concentra-tions of chemicals in controlled test chamber environments.This paper discusses the development and requirements ofthese test methods, particularly from the perspective of theanalytical chemist tasked with the determination of extensivelists of target chemicals specied by the various schemes.Current differences in approaches for evaluating risks to healthof emissions from products are described and efforts to achievegreater harmonisation of the requirements in Europe areoutlined.

Types and sources of emissions

Uhde7 stated that there exists an almost ubiquitous level ofvolatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air resulting fromthe use of materials and household products and that severalhundred different compounds have been identied. Sources ofthese compounds may be present in the room continuously orintermittently. Building products, furniture and room textilesare the most important continuous sources.8 Intermittentsources include household and consumer products, buildingoccupants and their activities, such as smoking and hobbywork.9 Ambient air can also be a source of indoor air pollutants,


although its contribution to VOC levels in indoor atmospheresis generally less important.

As well as exposure by inhalation, organic chemicals origi-nating from building materials and consumer goods can occurin household dust, providing a potential route of exposure byingestion, particularly for young children.10 Somematerials mayalso be a source of inhalable particles that may have associatedhealth effects e.g. polymeric foam insulation11 and wood dusts,but these are outside the scope of the present paper.

As well as the rate at which it is emitted, the concentration of apollutant in indoor air depends on the rate at which it is trans-ported into the building and the rates at which it is scavenged byindoor surfaces, removed by indoor chemistry and diluted byventilation.12 Emissions frommaterials can be broken down intoprimary emissions, dened as the physical release of compoundsthat are present in a new product, and secondary emissions,which are compounds produced by chemical reactions in theproduct or in the indoor environment.13 Examples of primaryemissions include monomers from man-made polymers, andterpenes from fresh wood. Examples of secondary emissionsinclude those resulting from inherent decay of materials, forexample chemically unstable urea-formaldehyde resins whichrelease formaldehyde,14 and those from interactions, such asodorous alcohols formed from chemical degradation of ooradhesive and vinyl ooring placed on damp alkaline concrete.15

The level of primary emissions is highest immediately aer amaterial has been manufactured and diminishes during thefollowing months, while secondary emissions may increase withtime and be long lasting.1

Numerous investigations of emissions of VOCs fromconstruction and consumer products have been undertaken byresearch groups across the world. Some studies have just lookedfor the presence of particular compounds, perhaps because ofconcern over their toxicity or irritancy, while others haveinvestigated a wide range of compounds. It is difficult toestablish a comprehensive list of which VOCs are emitted fromwhich sources because of the on-going variation in the formu-lation of products and the resulting change in the compositionof the mixture of VOCs emitted; however, some examples ofparticular compounds emitted from a selection of materials aregiven in Table 1, together with some details of the method usedto undertake the test.

Potential health effects

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has led internationalefforts to evaluate the toxicity of indoor pollutants and toestablish recommended guideline values and practical guid-ance for reducing the adverse health impacts of air pollution. In2010, guidelines were established for a number of indoorpollutants. Six of the nine chemicals considered were organicchemicals: formaldehyde, benzene, naphthalene, halogenatedcompounds (tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene) andpolyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), especially benzo[a]pyrene.32

The evidence for assessing the burden of disease attributable toinadequate housing in Europe was evaluated by WHO and thisincluded exposure to formaldehyde and the associated

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013, 15, 2164–2177 | 2165

Table 1 Examples of chemicals emitted from selected materials and products

Material(s) tested Chemical(s) emitted Details of test Reference

PVC ooring Phthalates 50 l chamber and FLEC, Tenax, TD/GC/MS

16

Wall coverings Phthalates 1 m3 glass chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS

17

Treated wood Permethrin and other biocides Test room and 2 l chamber, Tenax,TD/GC/MS

18

Latex paints Texanol ester alcohol 3.3 l Stainless steel chamber, Tenax,TD/GC/FID

19

Linseed oil paints Aldehydes Emissions chamber and LC/MSanalysis

20

Paints Range of VOCs Chambers and emission cell, Tenax,TD/GC/FID/MS

21

Polyurethane foam Flame retardants 1 m3 glass chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS

22

Polyurethane adhesives Isocyanates 2.2 l and 1 m3 chambers, HPLC/UV/MS

23

Particleboard Formaldehyde 2.2 l and 1 m3 chambers, DNPH/HPLC

24

Oriented strand boards Range of VOCs FLEC, Tenax, TD/GC/MS, DNPH/HPLC

25

Gypsum based materials Sulphur containing compounds 4 l-Headspace vessels, Tenax, TD/GC/FID/MS

26

Pinewood furniture boards Range of terpenes 1 m3 glass chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS

27

Cork products Phenol and furfural 1 m3 glass chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS, DNPH/HPLC

28

MDF overlaid with variousmaterials Formaldehyde and a range of VOCs FLEC and 20 l chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS, DNPH/HPLC

29

10 exotic wood products Range of VOCS and aldehydes 225 l chamber, Tenax, TD/GC/MS,DNPH/HPLC

30

Urea formaldehyde foam Formaldehyde Glass desiccator chamber, DNPH/HPLC

31

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts Perspective

increased risks of respiratory illness in children.33 A furtherEuropean initiative, called INDEX, sought to establish a list ofcompounds to be regulated in indoor environments, togetherwith recommendations for potential exposure limits withhealth impact criteria as priority.34 From an initial list of 41compounds, detailed assessment was undertaken on 14compounds and ve of these (formaldehyde, benzene, naph-thalene, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) were assignedas high priority chemicals with potential for high indoorconcentrations and uncontested health impacts. Acetaldehyde,xylenes, toluene and styrene were assigned as second prioritychemicals. A further group of chemicals (ammonia, delta-limonene and alpha-pinene) were considered to require furtherresearch before a recommendation could be made.

Effects observed aer exposure to the levels of organicchemicals typically found in non-industrial indoor environ-ments are generally non-specic35 including, for example,headache and irritation to the eyes, nose and throat.36 Whilelevels in homes can be tenfold higher than outdoors, the preciseconsequences of exposure to VOCs are difficult to evaluatebecause of the complexity and variable nature of the mixture.37

Some compounds are known or suspected carcinogens;1

benzene, for example is a known genotoxic carcinogen. Men-dell38 reviewed studies on the links between chemicals in indoorair and respiratory health or allergy in children, and found a

2166 | Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013, 15, 2164–2177

number of such associations. Formaldehyde and phthalateswere amongst risk factors identied most frequently. Othergroups of compounds, such as aromatic and aliphatic hydro-carbons showed limited, but suggestive, evidence of suchassociations. Reduction in the levels of indoor air pollutants,including those of organic chemicals, also has the potential tosignicantly increase the productivity of workers as well asimproving their health.39 A study of childhood asthma inFrance40 concluded that everyday exposure to indoor pollutionwas associated with a higher risk of childhood asthma. In thewhole population, exposure to acetaldehyde and toluene wassignicantly associated with a higher risk of asthma. In theurban population, the association with toluene was signicantin winter, and with toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene whencases were restricted to current asthmatics. In rural settings, arelationship between asthma and formaldehyde exposure wasobserved (OR ¼ 10.7; 95% CI 1.69–67.61). Billionnet et al.41

report an investigation of concentrations of 20 VOCs in 490homes in France combined with use of a questionnaire todetermine the prevalence of asthma and rhinitis among 1012adult inhabitants. Asthma was signicantly associated withn-undecane and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and rhinitis withethylbenzene, trichloroethylene, m/p- and o-xylene; furthersignicant associations were found using indexes representingconcentrations of mixtures.



There have been a number of reports in the scientic liter-ature of specic products and pollutants being associated withcomplaints of poor indoor air quality and health effects. Forexample, Crump42 lists examples in the UK where either poormaterials were used or they were used in an inappropriatemanner, resulting in the release of formaldehyde from ureaformaldehyde foam, formaldehyde from particleboard, naph-thalene and other PAHs from damp proong products, whitespirits from injected damp proof courses and oor screeds,toluene from ooring adhesives, 2-ethylhexan-1-ol from hydro-lysis reactions involving vinyl ooring, styrene from a concreterepair product, and prolonged VOC emissions from wall paint.

Methods for the measurement of VOCsemitted from materials

In 1989, a European expert group recommended the use ofclimate controlled chambers to determine the emission offormaldehyde from wood based products over a dened timescale.43 This method formed the basis for the preparation ofEuropean standardised methods for testing the emission offormaldehyde from wood based products44 and, subsequently,international standards for determining VOC chemical emis-sions from building materials and furnishings. Major drivingforces behind the development of such standard methods havebeen the establishment of labelling schemes for low emittingproducts and requirements for labelling of products based onemission of dangerous substances to indoor air under theConstruction Products Directive (Council Directive 89/106/EEC). The international standards for conducting emissiontests are outlined below.

ISO 16000 series standards for emissions testing

The 16000 international standards series has several standardswhich are relevant to emissions testing. Part 9 of this standardseries employs an emission test chamber to determine theemission of VOCs from building products and furnishing.45 Anemission test chamber is dened as an enclosure with controlledoperational parameters and conditions of temperature, relativeair humidity and area specic air ow rate are dened within thestandard. The air in the emission test chamber is fully mixed andmeasurements of the VOC concentration in the air leaving thechamber are representative of the emission test chamber airconcentrations. The chamber is supplied with clean air and thechamber and the parts of the sampling system coming in contactwith the emitted VOCs are normally made of surface-treated(polished) stainless steel or glass.

The area specic emission rates (SERs) of VOCs from thematerial under test are calculated from the emission testchamber air concentrations, the air ow through the emissiontest chamber and the surface area of the test specimen. Prod-ucts for use in Europe are tested at 23 �C and 50% RH. Nor-mally, duplicate air samples are taken at 72 hours and 28 daysaer the start of the test. ISO 16000-6 is referred to for airsampling and analytical methods for the determination ofVOCs, with EN ISO 16000-3 being referred to for sampling and


analysis of formaldehyde. The test method for formaldehydespecically from wood-based panels (EN 717-1:2004) alsoinvolves a chamber test but with different humidity and loadingconditions and requires the determination of the steady stateformaldehyde concentration in the air by either an impingertechnique (based on the reaction of formaldehyde withammonium ions and acetylacetone followed by photometricanalysis) or by EN ISO 16000-3.

Part 10 is a parallel standard employing an emission testcell46 – a small chamber that is placed on the surface of thematerial under test and designed such that the surface of thematerial becomes part of the cell. Part 11 complements parts 9and 10 by dening the procedure for sampling, storage ofsamples and preparation of test specimens.47 There are separatespecications for solid, liquid and combined building orfurnishing products.

Part 6 denes themethod of collecting the VOCs present in theemission chamber/cell air and determining the concentrationthat is used in the calculation of the emission rate. The methodinvolves active sampling using sorbent tubes and analysis of thetubes by thermal desorption and gas chromatography using massspectrometry (MS) or ame ionisation detection (FID).48 Thermaldesorption involves the heating of the sorbent in a ow of inertgas to release the collected volatile compounds. These are thenfocussed on a cold trap before being rapidly heated and trans-ferred to a chromatography column to separate the complexmixtures of compounds emitted from most construction prod-ucts. ISO 16000-6 species the use of the sorbent Tenax TA andrecommends a maximum sample size of 5 litres of air, and hencedenes the operational limits of the compounds determined. Asample volume of 5 litres allows effective trapping of organiccompounds within the volatility range of n-hexane to n-hex-adecane. However, the informative Annex D, added to the updatedversion of the standard issued in 2011, describes the use of acombination of sorbents arranged in order of increasing sorbentstrength to extend the volatility range of compounds which can bedetermined by a single analysis. This standard also includes thedetermination of total VOC (TVOCs), which is dened as the sumof VOCs eluting between and including n-hexane and n-hex-adecane on a non-polar capillary column and calibrated usingtheir toluene equivalents.

Formaldehyde, due to its volatility and reactivity, cannotcurrently be effectively analysed by thermal desorption and GCbut, because of its importance, a separate technique involvingderivatisation followed by high performance liquid chromatog-raphy (HPLC) is specied in ISO 16000-3:2011.49 The basis of thestandard method is the specic reaction of a carbonyl group with2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) in the presence of an acid toform stable derivatives which are amenable to HPLC with UVdetection. DNPH is coated onto silica contained within acartridge-type sampler and air is drawn at a rate typically of about1 l min�1 and a volume of 30 to 60 l is used. When returned to thelaboratory the DNPH derivatives are eluted from the cartridgeusing solvent. An aliquot of the eluent is analysed by reverse phaseHPLC to determine the amount of formaldehyde trapped, as wellas amounts of other volatile aldehydes and ketones if these arerequired for the evaluation of the product emissions.



Part 25 (ref. 50) provides a standard test procedure speci-cally for measuring SVOC emissions from construction prod-ucts. SVOCs, such as phthalate esters, are found in manyconstruction materials and if emitted into the air they can stickto surfaces and become a persistent indoor air contaminant,potentially posing a long term health risk to building occu-pants. This standard employs a micro-chamber and involves atwo-step process in which a sample is rst placed in a micro-chamber at 23 �C and 50% RH for 24 hours, at the end of whichtime an air sample is taken using a sorbent tube. The testspecimen is then removed and the micro-chamber is heated toaround 200 �C to 220 �C, under a ow of inert gas for 40minutes, during which time a second air sample is taken.During this stage any semi-volatile compounds that were sorbedto the internal surfaces of the microchamber will be volatilisedand then trapped by the sorbent tube. Further parts to the ISO16000 series of standards also apply chamber technology toinvestigate emissions including standards for in-vehicle mate-rials, assessing sorption of VOCs to materials and conductingsensory testing of material emissions.51

Schemes for characterising emissions fromproducts

Because materials are important sources of organic chemicalsin indoor atmospheres, the testing of emissions from materialsto be used in buildings has become an area of growing impor-tance. There have been initiatives in Europe and the USA, aswell as some other countries, to characterise such emissions.

Europe

In response to the need for improved consumer protection, anumber of low VOC emission labels for construction productshave been developed in Europe over the last twenty years, somehaving arisen from government initiatives and others beingindustry based.52 The focus of most of these labels is the clas-sication of emissions into indoor air, sometimes combinedwith restrictions of some ingredients in the product. Most of thelabels are used on a voluntary basis, but in a number of casesregulatory requirements have either been established or areplanned. Some large companies, such as in the automotive andfurniture industry, have also established their own specica-tions of low VOC emissions that their suppliers have to meet.This multiplication of schemes has resulted in pressures from anumber of stakeholders to develop not only harmonisedmethods of measuring product emissions but also for evalu-ating emission data to determine product labels. These initia-tives have been summarised by Harrison et al.53 and haveinvolved collaborative work undertaken by authorities admin-istering the labelling schemes as well as other stakeholders todevelop a framework for dening common product evaluationcriteria. This has involved developing protocols to derive agreedconcentration values, known as LCIs (Lowest Concentration ofInterest) for evaluating the VOC emission data obtained bychamber testing. This work has been facilitated by the Institutefor Health and Consumer Protection of the European


Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra. Further details areprovided below in the section on harmonisation.

The main labelling schemes in existence throughout Europeare described below:

Finnish M1 scheme – this is a voluntary classication schemewhich includes target values for indoor air quality and climate,cleanliness requirements for construction works, and emis-sions criteria for all types of building materials.54 The schemewas rst applied in Finland in 1995. The classication wasupdated in 2001 and again in 2008. Materials that pass theemission criteria are given an M1 label. In February 2009 therewere over 1300 M1-labelled building products from over 130companies and 14 countries around the world.

The Danish Indoor Climate Label (DICL) – this is a voluntaryscheme which is applicable to all product types with relevanceto indoor air.55 It was proposed by the Danish Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs in 1993 in order to reduce emissionsfrom materials used indoors. Specic criteria have been devel-oped for a number of product areas including textile oorcoverings and windows and exterior doors. Products are testedfor emissions on a minimum of two occasions, and concen-trations of individual compounds are compared againstthreshold values for irritation of mucous membranes. Thislabelling scheme also includes sensory testing.

Ausschuss zur gesundheitlichen Bewertung von Bauprodukten[Committee for Health-related Evaluation of Building Products](AgBB) scheme – the rst version of the AgBB scheme was pub-lished by the German government in 2001.56 Since 2004 thescheme has been included in the approval procedure for someconstructionmaterials in Germany by the Deutsches Institut furBautechnik [German Institute for Construction Technology](DIBt), so in this context it is a mandatory scheme57 and wasnotied to the European Commission in 2005. Kirchner et al.57

reported that by 2009 the mandatory scheme had been appliedto oor coverings and related adhesives and that, since 2005,DIBt had granted 234 technical approvals (covering more than1000 products due to group approvals) for oor coverings testedand evaluated. The scheme also applies on a voluntary basiswith the aim of fostering the development of a wide range of lowemission building products.

The evaluation includes limits for the total amount ofemissions, assessment of the toxicological signicance ofindividual compounds detected, and limits for non-assessablesubstances. The scheme covers both VOCs (n-hexane, nC6, ton-hexadecane, nC16) and SVOCs (>C16 to C22). The basis for theevaluation of individual compounds is a list of LCI values whichare updated periodically based on actual toxicological knowl-edge.56 There are also particular requirements for carcinogeniccompounds. Updates to the scheme, containing new andrevised LCI values, are published at intervals of about two years.The 2010 version of the evaluation procedure listed LCI valuesfor 170 compounds and also included 12 VVOCs/SVOCs withoutLCI values. An update was published in June 2012 (ref. 58)which included seven new compounds and a number of revi-sions to LCI values. One compound (tetrachloroethylene) wassubsequently removed from the list, giving 176 compoundswith published LCI values. It states in the evaluation procedure



that VVOCs are not currently considered in the AgBB evaluation,however a paper reviewing 10 years of the AgBB scheme59

reports that inclusion of these compounds is planned as part ofthe next stage of AgBB development.

L'agence francaise de securite sanitaire de l'environment et dutravail [French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Healthand Safety] (AFSSET) scheme – A working group established byAFSSET and co-chaired by Centre Scientique et Technique duBatiment [French Scientic and Technical Centre forConstruction] (CSTB) produced a voluntary protocol for theevaluation of VOC emissions from solid building products in2006.60 The evaluation is based on an approach similar to that ofthe AgBB scheme. The latest version of the AFSSET scheme,which has now been extended to liquid products, was publishedin 2009 and lists LCI values for 165 compounds.†61 While manyof the compounds listed in the AFSSET scheme are the same asthose in the AgBB scheme, some of the LCI values differ widely.

The scheme was not endorsed by voluntary labellingschemes in France and promotion of low emitting products wasextremely limited,60 so the French government introducedmandatory labelling of VOC emissions from building anddecoration products. This was enacted as part of a consensusaction called ‘Le Grenelle Environement’ which also denesenergy saving objectives for the building sector. The Frenchgovernment notied the European Commission of this inten-tion in 2010 (ref. 62) and a decree was issued on 23rd March2011 stating that products may only be made available on themarket if they are accompanied by a label, applied to theproduct or its packaging, indicating their emissions of VOCs.TVOCs and 11 individual compounds from the AFSSET protocolwere listed on the dra order. Butyl acetate was later removedfrom the list and the 10 remaining compounds have to beassigned to one of four emission classes. There is also a separatelist of four category 1 and 2 (since categorised as 1A and 1B)CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic) compounds whichneed to be kept at very low concentrations. The provisions ofthis decree came into force on 1st January 2012 for new productsand apply to existing products from September 2013.63

A new dra Belgian regulation, notication number 2012/568/B, on VOC emissions from a number of constructionproduct types was notied to the European Commission inOctober 2012.64 The regulation intends to dene maximumemission of VOCs; the limits are similar to those in the Germanregulation, but with some differences in the details. Compli-ance will be by self-declaration and there will be no labellingrequirements.

Other industry based or voluntary schemes also requirechamber testing of VOC emissions. These include several thatare established in Germany but inuence the market interna-tionally: the GUT label, established in 1990 as a voluntarylabelling system for textile oor coverings;65 the EMICODEsystem, established in 1997 as a voluntary scheme promotinglow VOC emitting adhesives;66 and the Blue Angel scheme, setup as a voluntary eco-label by the German government in 1977

† AFSSET has been replaced by ANSES, the French Agency for Food,Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety.


which now covers a wide range of materials and products usedindoors.67

United States

In the United States there is a reported growing demand forproducts with low VOC emissions to satisfy green buildingrating systems.68 An example is LEED (Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design), which is administered by the GreenBuilding Council (USA), the latest version of which speciesVOC emissions testing.59 Levin, reviewing the material emissionand certication programs existing in the USA in 2010, statedthat these began as a response to increased complaints ofhealth effects associated with reduced ventilation intended toconserve energy in the 1970s.69 Since this time a number ofstandard methods and certication schemes have been devel-oped independently by a range of organisations. Some of themore important of these are described below.

California Standard Practice Section 01350 – ‘Cal01350’ wasdeveloped by the California Department of Public Health(CDPH) in 2000 to dene a VOC emission testing protocol andemission limits. The rst edition of the ‘Standard Practice for theTesting of Volatile Organic Emissions from Various Sources UsingSmall-Scale Environmental Chambers (Standard Practice)’ wasproduced in 2004.70 The aim was improved information for theselection of interior building materials. The testing protocolwas linked to the State's exposure guidelines, known as ChronicReference Exposure Levels or CRELs, and includes probable orknown carcinogens, reproductive/developmental toxins andsystemic toxins with non-cancer chronic effects. Stensland70

also states that testing is undertaken according to ASTM(American Society for Testing andMaterials) D5116-05 StandardGuide for Small-Scale Environmental Chamber Determinationsof Organic Emissions from Indoor Materials/Products. TheStandard Practice/Cal01350 is used for a variety of dry productgroups including carpets, wood, resilient ooring and wallcoverings. An updated edition of this standard method wasproduced in February 2010. This stated that VOCs emitted byproducts appearing on State of California lists of toxicsubstances are considered to be chemicals of concern and arerequired to be included as target VOCs for the testing of emis-sions under this method.71 As well as the CREL list the standardmethod references website addresses linking to the latest pub-lished editions of two other lists which contain the relevantchemicals.

Californian Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)– the CHPS requires that contractors bidding to construct newschools and other public building projects guarantee only to usematerials whose emissions have been tested using the Cal01350protocol by an accredited laboratory.72

The ANSI/BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards – The BIFMAFurniture Emissions Standards were established in 2005 by theBusiness and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Associa-tion International (BIFMA).73 The American National StandardsInstitute (ANSI) approved the standards in 2007 as AmericanNational Standards for determining low-emitting VOC perfor-mance for business and institutional furniture products in



North America and any other interested country. ANSI/BIFMAM7.1 is a consensus based test method for determination ofindividual and total VOC emissions, including aldehydes, fromfurniture under environmental and product usage conditionsthat are representative of those in office buildings. ANSI/BIFMAX7.1 is a consensus based conformance standard for low-emit-ting furniture that species acceptance levels for the emissionsof VOCs, including aldehydes from newly constructed officefurniture systems and seating when tested per ANSI/BIFMAM7.1. The standards were revised in May 2011 with changes tosome emissions factor criteria.74

The Green Label Plus programme – The Green Label pro-gramme was launched in 1992 by the Carpet and Rug Institute(CRI) to help speciers identify products with very low emis-sions of VOCs. The latest revision, renamed Green Label Plus(GLP), includes carpets and adhesives.75 To receive initialcertication, products are tested aer 14 days as required byCal01350. The product is further tested on a quarterly basisagainst established emissions criteria for TVOCs, then on anannual basis for TVOCs plus levels of 13 chemicals (for carpets)and levels of 15 chemicals (for adhesives).

FloorScore Flooring Products Certication programme – Floor-Score is a voluntary, independent certication programmewhich was established in 2005 by the Resilient Floor CoveringInstitute in conjunction with Scientic Certication Systems(SCS). FloorScore tests and certies hard surface ooring forcompliance with Cal01350 criteria using a small-scale chambertest protocol. It encompasses a wide range of ooring products,for example linoleum, laminate ooring and ceramic ooringand associated products.76 By 2009, 15 hard surface ooringmanufacturers from North America, Europe and Asia hadcertied over 300 ooring products in the FloorScoreprogramme.

Greenguard Certication programmes – the Greenguard certi-cation programmes are developed by the Greenguard Envi-ronmental Institute (GEI).77 The institute currently runs threeproduct certication programmes: ‘Greenguard Indoor AirQuality Certied’ which applies to low-emitting buildingmaterials, furniture, furnishings, nishes, cleaning products,electronics and consumer products; ‘Greenguard Children andSchools Certied’ for products used in environments wherechildren and other sensitive populations spend extendedperiods of time; and ‘Greenguard Premier Certied’ which is ahealth-based certication program for which products of alltypes are eligible.77 The primary method used for most buildingmaterials, furniture and nishes is based on an environmentalchamber test of emissions.78

Other countries

A number of other countries are developing labelling schemesfor emissions from materials. Notable examples are Japan andKorea. Azuma et al.79 reviewed the governmental and industrialstandards and guidelines concerning labelling of emissions inJapan. They reported that several labelling systems exist; thewallpaper industry, for example, has established voluntarystandards for emissions of VOCs from their products based on


the German labelling systems. Levin69 reported that mandatorytesting is required under the Building Standards Law, whilevoluntary certication of some materials is done under the JIS(Japanese Industrial Standards) product certication system.The Japanese standard for emission of VOCs from buildingproducts covers building boards, wallpaper and ooring mate-rials, adhesives, paints and coating materials and heat insu-lating material boards.

Likewise, Korea has established testing programmes andlimits on emissions, but there is no central authority for IAQ oremissions testing, certication and labelling. The KoreanNational Institute of Environmental Research tested nearly 1500construction materials over the period 2004–2006 and as aresult issued a notice of restriction on the use of 145 materialsexceeding the standards.69 On-going work by the Koreangovernment and national research institutions is developingpolicies and regulations regarding emissions.80

Analytical requirements for labellingschemes for materials emissions

The various labelling schemes outlined above have a range ofrequirements with respect to the number of chemicals requiredto be quantied. Table 2 summarises the main analyticalrequirements of the four national labelling schemes withinEurope and highlights the differences within this onegeographical region. The test procedure and the analyticalmethods in the schemes are all based on those described in ISO16000 standards parts 3, 6, 9, 10 and 11, but differences exist inthe detail of the requirements for each scheme.

As identied in the above summary of the main labellingschemes, there are several lists of chemicals used by thedifferent schemes that either dene compounds to be deter-mined or advise the analyst of compounds to be considered.These are collated below to illustrate the current analyticalrequirements of the different schemes and to highlight thepresent lack of harmonisation in the assessment of risk tohealth of emissions of organic compounds from indoorproducts.

(1) Annex A of ISO 16000-6 (2011). This contains a table ofexamples of compounds detected in indoor air and frombuilding products in test chambers. The list contains 167 VOCsseparated into 12 groups of compound types.

(2) Annex A of the European standard for assessing emis-sions from adhesives.82 This contains a list of examples ofcarcinogenic and sensitising substances required to be deter-mined in emissions from these products. The list comprises 11VOCs/VVOCs (and two SVOCs) and two aldehydes. Vinyl chlo-ride, which has a boiling point of �13 �C, is included on the listand would require determination using a much strongersorbent than Tenax TA. Seven isocyanates are also listed, thesewould be determined using solvent desorption and liquidchromatography.

(3) Annex B.2 of the international standard for emissions ofVOCs from resilient, textile and laminateooring.83 This containsthe requirement to test for the presence of any carcinogeniccompound as dened in European Directive 76/769/EEC. PrEN


Table 2 Comparison of analytical requirements for European labelling schemes81

Requirement M1 DICL AgBB AFSSET

Measuring points (days) 28 3, 10 and 28 3 and 28 3 and 28Formaldehyde measured Yes Yes No YesTVOC measured Yes No Yes YesSVOC measured No No Yes NoSingle VOCs measured Some Yes Yes YesEvaluation of carcinogens according to IARCa Class 1 IARC Class 1 EU Class 1A and 1B EU Class 1A and 1BIrritants evaluated Ammonia Selected VOCs All VOC according

to LCI valuesAll VOC accordingto LCI values

Other VOCs assessed No No Yes Yes

a IARC ¼ International Agency for Research on Cancer.


15052:2004, on which this standard is based, includes a list of137 carcinogenic compounds extracted from Annex 1 of theabove-mentioned Directive. The prEN includes a note that the listis only to be considered for volatile components as dened in ISO16000-6. From a check of the boiling points of the compounds onthis list, 97 of these should be appropriate to be determined byTD analysis.

(4) The 2012 version of the Health-related EvaluationProcedure for Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions (VOCand SVOC) from Building Products.58 The list contains 176VOCs (and 12 VVOCs/SVOCs) separated into 12 groups ofcompound types. However, seven of the entries refer to a groupof compounds, for example ‘other terpene hydrocarbons’, andother entries include more than one isomer, for example pen-tanol for which there are 10 isomers, so the number ofcompounds involved is actually signicantly greater.

(5) The 2009 version of the scheme published by the FrenchAgency for Occupational Health and Safety (AFSSET).61 Thisdocument lists many of the compounds that are on the AgBBlist, but with a small number of differences. It includes 165compounds separated into 12 groups of compound types.

(6) The French government's notication to the Commissionin 2010 (ref. 62) of the intention to introduce mandatorylabelling of VOC emissions from building and decorationproducts followed by a decree and order in 2011. The order lists10 individual compounds from the AFSSET protocol, togetherwith four carcinogenic compounds.

(7) The report entitled Environmental and Health Provisionsfor Building Products – Identication and evaluation of VOCemissions and odour exposure.84 This report contains a list of 38compounds that have been classied as carcinogenic (EUcategory 1 or 2 [Directive 67/548/EEC]) and required to bedetermined by the AgBB scheme but not represented by a list inthe scheme. The authors selected these compounds based onplausibility, relevance to building products, and potentialdetectability of the substances.

(8) The AgBB/DIBt Assessment Mask (ADAM) soware toolfor collection and storage of emissions data obtained under theAgBB scheme.85 The May 2010 version of this document con-tained a list of 200 individual substances classied as category1 or 2 carcinogens according to Council Directive 67/548/EEC(status August 2009). 54 of these compounds have been esti-mated as emission-relevant substances for construction


products by DIBt.85 An updated version of the tool was releasedin August 2012 to cover the latest update to the AgBB scheme.

(9) The emission testing method for California Specication01350 (Cal01350).55 This document includes links to three listsof chemicals containing ‘chemicals of concern’ which are to beincluded as target VOCs for the testing of emissions under thismethod. The lists are:

(i) California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA)Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)list of chemicals for non-cancer Chronic Reference ExposureLevels (CRELs);

(ii) Cal/EPA OEHHA Safe Drinking Water and ToxicEnforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65 or Prop 65) lists ofknown or probable human carcinogens and reproductive/developmental toxins;

(iii) Cal/EPA list of Toxic Air Contaminants (TACs). TheCDPH document states that the list includes all substances onthe EPA list of Hazardous Air Pollutants plus additionalcompounds.

Cal01350 states that chemical substances that are not VOCs(e.g. metals, acids and pesticides) are not required to be ana-lysed under this standard method. The December 2008 editionof the CREL list contains 100 chemicals, and the CDPH docu-ment contains a list of 35 of these which it classes as VOCs (i.e.compounds that can be analysed by the sampling and analyticalmethods specied). An update to the CREL list was issued inFebruary 2012, but the CDPH document states that the values itcontains shall continue to apply until the changes are publishedin the standard method. The February 2008 edition of the TAClist contains 189 substances, some of which are outside thevolatility range dened for a VOC. From a check of the boilingpoints of the compounds on this list, 128 of them should beappropriate to determine by TD analysis. The TAC list wasreviewed in July 2011, but there were no changes in thecompounds included. The May 2010 edition of the ‘Prop 65’ listcontains 836 compounds, 192 of which were identied as beingappropriate for determination by TD analysis. An updated ‘Prop65’ list was published in February 2013.

(10) The ANSI/BIFMA Standard Test Method for DeterminingVOC Emissions.86 The standard lists 16 compounds againstwhich the performance of the analytical system should beroutinely validated. These 16 specied compounds all occurredon at least one of the other lists. The standard also states that


Table 3 Lists of compounds referred to by material emissions testing schemes

List codea List (and date of update) Reference

a Annex A to ISO 16000-6:2011 48b Annex A to EN 13999-1:2006 82c Carcinogens from 76/769/EEC,

Annex B.2 to ISO 10580:201083

d (German) AgBB scheme, June 2012 58e (French) AFSSET, 2009 61f French mandatory labelling of

emissions, 201181

g Umweltbundesamt (UBA) CMRcategory 1 and 2, 2006

84

h CMR category 1 and 2 from 67/548/EEC,ADAM, 2010

85

i Chronic Reference Exposure Level(CREL), Cal/EPA OEHHA, 2008

71

j Toxic Air Contaminants (TAC),Cal/EPA OEHHA, 2008

71

k Proposition 65 (Prop 65),Cal/EPA OEHHA, 2010

71

l ANSI/BIFMA, 2011 86m Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), 2009 75n Threshold limit values (TLV),

ACGIH, 200478

o Measurement target list for furniture, 2010 74

a Target list detailed in Table 4.

Fig. 1 Number of the lists of chemicals of concern with respect to materialemissions on which each of the 611 chemicals feature (total of 15 lists).


selection of specic VOCs to be measured shall be based on theacceptance criteria established by relevant governmentagencies, certication and other organisations.

(11) The CRI's Green Label Plus programme.75 This speciesa list of 13 chemicals the emissions of which are required to bedetermined from carpets, and 15 chemicals relevant to adhe-sives. Eight of the chemicals are common to both materials,making a total of 20 chemicals, seven of which are additional tothose required by Cal01350.

(12) The Greenguard Standard Method for Measuring andEvaluating Chemical Emissions from Building Materials,Finishes and Furnishings using Dynamic EnvironmentalChambers.78 This document refers to lists of chemicals speci-ed in the Cal01350 method and also requires the determina-tion of compounds for which the American Conference ofGovernmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) have set athreshold limit value (TLV) industrial workplace standard. The2004 edition of the TLV list contained 354 compounds withexisting TLVs, 316 of which were identied as being appropriatefor TD analysis. Subsequently, the 2011 TLV list containingupdated compounds and values has been referenced.

(13) The Greenguard website also includes a section whereproposed changes to Standards and Test Methods are posted.74

A proposed change posted on 18 May 2010 (Change Number4364.72) reported results of a review of chemicals released by373 office furniture products tested over the three-year period2007–2010. These tests found 60 compounds occurringfrequently in the emissions and a further 59 compoundsoccurring at a somewhat lower frequency. Many, but not all, ofthese compounds were included in one of the Cal01350 targetlists of chemicals.

Taken together, the 13 schemes listed above contain a totalof 15 lists of target compounds, the details of which are sum-marised in Table 3. A total of 611 chemicals occur on at leastone of the target lists. Fig. 1 gives a breakdown of the number oflists on which each chemical appears. This shows that there issome overlap in compounds between the lists; for example,benzene occurs on 13 of the 15 lists, toluene and acetaldehydeoccur on 11 lists, and three compounds (trichloroethylene,ethylbenzene and styrene) occur on 10 lists. But there is also asignicant amount of divergence; for example, 251 (41.1%)compounds occur on only one list. The lists also differ in theproportions of different compound types they contain; this isshown in Table 4 which uses the categories dened by the AgBBscheme (note that the ‘others’ category includes compoundswith more than one functional group).

A further list of potentially relevant chemicals is thatcompiled by the Expert Group on Dangerous Substances in theeld of Construction Products (EGDS), set up by the EuropeanCommission. Their ‘indicative’ list contains substances that thetechnical committee established by CEN (TC 351) was to focuson during the development of harmonised test methods insupport of the CPD. It is a compilation of lists in existingnational and harmonised legislation within the EU concerningconstruction products. The May 2009 version of the documentincluded the compounds on the AgBB LCI list, together with 297substances of concern in Finland, 26 substances from a list of


permitted concentrations in residences in Poland and 89carcinogens of EU category 1A and 1B. Aer removal of pesti-cides and those outside the appropriate volatility range, addi-tion of this list would add around 35 compounds to the listgenerated by the review of labelling scheme requirementsdescribed above. A further version of the ‘indicative’ list con-taining additional compounds was made available in March2012.

An interesting insight into the relevance of various lists ofchemicals of concern to the chemicals that are actually found tobe emitted from construction products has been given in arecent review of data on VOC emissions from a range of product


Table 4 Number of each organic compound type occuring on each of the material emissions testing lists of chemicals

Category

Target list (see Table 3 for key to lists of chemicals)

a b c d e f g h i j ka l m nb o Total

1. Aromatic hydrocarbons 29 1 3 31 28 6 1 2 8 11 6 5 7 20 15 442. Aliphatic hydrocarbons 30 0 0 6 5 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 1 20 11 433. Terpenes 9 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 5 114. Aliphatic alcohols 10 0 0 11 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 15 8 215. Aromatic alcohols 2 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 7 2 0 1 5 5 116. Glycols and glycol ethers 10 4 0 46 38 1 0 0 6 2 5 1 0 12 13 517. Aldehydes 18 1 0 18 22 2 0 0 2 3 4 1 4 7 8 258. Ketones 10 0 0 9 9 0 0 0 1 4 1 1 0 18 7 239. Acids 10 0 0 10 10 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 9 4 1710. Esters & lactones 19 0 1 23 22 2 0 0 1 7 3 1 2 29 9 4811. Chlorinated hydrocarbons 11 2 13 0 3 3 6 11 10 27 26 1 0 37 13 4612. Others 9 3 80 14 11 0 31 41 4 64 142 0 3 142 21 271Total 167 11 97 176 165 14 38 54 35 128 192 16 20 316 119 611

a Pre-February 2013 update. b Pre-2011 TLV list update.


types over a 20-year period in the USA.87 They found that greaternumbers of chemicals have been detected over time, due to anincrease in the number of products tested and improvements inanalytical and chamber testing technology. Products, however,have generally been found to emit lower levels of chemicals overthe years. On comparison of the compounds detected against anumber of target VOC lists, they found some criteria lists, e.g.LCI and TLV (threshold limit value) lists, to be more relevant toproduct emissions than others, e.g. the prop 65 list, but no listwas found to completely capture all product emissions. Morerecently, criteria lists have been found to only partially coverproduct emissions and this was thought to be due to changes inraw materials and manufacturing processes.87

Pathway to a harmonised approach toemission control in Europe

The proliferation of labelling schemes for low emittingconstruction products across Europe is a nancial burden formanufacturers who wish to sell such products throughout thecontinent. In response to this concern the European Commis-sion's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy has investigatedthe scope for harmonisation of these existing schemes.88 It wasfelt that there was a need for common testing and analyticalprocedures, with the possibility of labelling in accordance withdifferent schemes being achieved using results from oneemission test (and that this could be achieved in advance of fullharmonisation). The initiative was taken forward by a confer-ence in Berlin in June 2007, organised in the context of theGerman EU presidency, entitled Construction Products andIndoor Air Quality89 and the formation of a working group withrepresentatives of the Danish (DICL) and Finnish (M1) labellingschemes and the German AgBB scheme, as well as participantsfrom emission test laboratories in the UK, France and the JRC.The working group produced a report on common require-ments of a harmonised scheme that was informed by results of


round robin testing of products according to the individualschemes and comparison of the results obtained.81

There is also on-going work within the European StandardsOrganisation (CEN) to prepare harmonised test protocols todetermine the emission of dangerous substances fromconstruction products in support of the Construction ProductsDirective (CPD). The CPD is European legislation that wasdeveloped with the objective of ensuring free circulation and useof construction products in the Internal Market of the EuropeanUnion.90 One of the six Essential Requirements (no. 3: Hygiene,Health and the Environment) requires that a construction isdesigned and built in such a way that it will not be a threat to thehealth of occupants. The CPD is now replaced by the Construc-tion Products Regulation (CPR); the regulation (305/2011/EU) wasadopted on 9th March 2011 (ref. 91) and the main parts of theCPR apply from 1st July 2013 with the ER3 requirements foremissions being subsumed under the Basic Requirement forConstruction Works no. 3 (BWR3) under the CPR.

To prepare for the coming into force of the health relatedrequirements of the CPD/CPR, CEN established in 2007 atechnical committee (TC351) to develop standards concerningthe release to soil, air and water of regulated dangeroussubstances.90 Emissions data are intended to be used for CEmarking of construction products and attestation of confor-mity. The proposed new EN standard for emissions to indoor airis based on the ISO 16000 series of standards and is applicableto VOCs, SVOCs, and volatile aldehydes. The rates of release ofdangerous substances from new products are to be measured atspecied times aer the product is placed in a test chamber.The test conditions have been chosen to enable the results to beconverted to a concentration in a reference (or typical) room bycalculation.90 This reference room, together with the test dura-tion, denes an exposure scenario by setting room dimensions,the rate of air exchange, the temperature and humidity, and thesurface area of particular product types present in the room.Measurements aer 3 days are to assess short term emissionsfrom new products and those aer 28 days are to assess



potential long term exposure. The proposed new standard waspublished as a technical specication (CEN/TS 16516 – assess-ment of emissions of regulated dangerous substances fromconstruction products – determination of emissions into indoorair) during 2013 with an expectation of future transformationinto a full EN norm. Robustness testing of the dra test method(pre CEN/TS stage) for determining VOC emissions usingdifferent conditions such as loading and air exchange rate hasbeen undertaken.92

A number of ‘indirect’ methods are also referred to in theforthcoming EN. Such methods are deemed to be acceptableprovided their comparability or correlation to the referencechamber method has been demonstrated in their specic eldof application.90 Such methods may be easier to apply and/orcheaper, and may be particularly useful for factory productioncontrol. An example of such a method is the rapid determina-tion of the emissions from a product, perhaps at elevatedtemperature, using micro-chambers.93,94

In common with the existing schemes in Germany andFrance, it is proposed to incorporate LCI values for targetchemicals in the product assessment process. The workinggroup established by the JRC has developed a procedure forderiving harmonised LCI values which takes into account theexisting procedures used in some EU Member States.53,95 Theprocedure is considered to be based on sound toxicological andrisk assessment principles, thereby representing an appropriatehealth-protective, science-based and transparent yet pragmaticapproach for the evaluation of chemical emissions fromconstruction products. The EU-LCI values, along with criteriafor TVOC concentrations, carcinogenic substances and theamount of non-assessed compounds (i.e. those without an LCIvalue) provide a basis for a more harmonised assessment ofproducts for regulatory and voluntary schemes in Europe, usingemission chamber methods with VOC measurements aer 3and 28 days of the test. Other challenges include reachingagreement on appropriate sensory evaluation of emissions;there is general agreement that human perception cannot beadequately assessed by examination of the data given by chro-matography data and that sensory panels are the appropriateapproach. Different methodologies and concerns about therepeatability of such tests have hindered harmonisation,although work completed by ISO in 2012 to prepare a sensorytest method for product emissions (ISO 16000-28 (ref. 96))should provide a good basis for progressing this issue.

Conclusion

The emission of organic chemicals from construction productsis an important source of these compounds in indoor air. If notadequately controlled they can adversely impact indoor airquality and present a risk to the health and well-being ofbuilding occupants. Concerns have been expressed thatmeasures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings tocombat climate change could inadvertently cause a deteriora-tion of IAQ; controlling the sources of indoor pollutantsprovides a countermeasure to this trend. Schemes to control theemission of VOCs from indoor products are increasingly being


applied and have a common basis for testing that involvesenclosure of the material in some form of climate controlledchamber. Chromatography based techniques such as TD/GC/MS and solvent elution-HPLC-UV are used analyse air samplersto determine the concentrations in the chamber air and therebycalculate the rates of emission from products. There are anumber of standard methods for conducting such tests,including those by the International Standards Organisation.

While the general approach to testing is similar, there aremany differences in the details of the methodologies and inparticular the means of applying the data obtained by envi-ronmental chamber testing to assess the emissions character-istics of products. A number of schemes use the emissions dataas a basis for product labelling. There is however a greatdiversity in the criteria used by the different schemes; someconsider only chemical emissions data, whereas others mayalso consider chemical content and/or also require sensorytesting. A challenge for the analytical chemist is the existence ofextensive lists of target chemicals that may need to be deter-mined for product assessment, particularly if the intention is toassess compliance against several schemes. Also some schemesrefer to extensive lists of chemicals such as those that areclassied as CMR compounds by various agencies where therecan be uncertainty about which compounds fall within theremit of existing analytical methods.

There are strong reasons for greater harmonisation of therequirements for testing and evaluation of emissions fromconstruction products. Such harmonisation exercises enablelearning from the experience of different approaches, therebyidentifying those elements that offer the most effectiveconsumer protection and are practical to implement. Importantinitiatives to achieve greater harmonisation are underway inEurope, together with the development of testing methodssupported by performance data that have appropriate qualitycontrol and quality assurance requirements.

There is an important role for analytical chemists in particularto ensure the provision of high quality emissions data thatunderpin the assessment of product emissions. The methodsapplied must be adaptable and appropriate for the ever changinglists of target chemicals and required sensitivities of detection.There is a particular need for the development and incorporationof effective quality control schemes within routine laboratoryprocedures for conducting emission testing; these shouldinclude participation in regular round robin exercises andparticipation in prociency schemes whereby laboratoriesanalyse spiked air sampling tubes on a regular basis (e.g. fourtimes per year as in the WASP scheme97) and report their resultsto an independent third party who conduct an assessment of theanalytical performance. It can be expected that future changes toproduct formulations, the introduction of new products and ourincreasing knowledge about the potential risks to health willrequire new and improved techniques. Initiatives worldwide byboth governments and other organisations indicate that thesetest methods will be increasingly applied to construction as wellas consumer products as a mechanism for the control of emis-sions from the wide variety of products within our homes,schools and other indoor environments.



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