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New Construction Equals New Odors |
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Often when new construction is completed, the space or spaces involved will contain a "new" space odor. In the past this was often blamed on the presence of formaldehyde in carpeting, furniture, or fixtures. Today, with our heightened concerns for formaldehyde, the emission rates have been reduced to a rate where we may not be smelling that particular chemical. That doesn't mean that we aren't smelling something though.
Several years ago, the state of Washington entered into a new building design project with the intentions of making it as environmentally friendly indoors (high quality - indoor air quality) as possible. Part of this effort included requiring the manufacturers of paint and other wet products, carpeting, fixtures, and furnishings to have their products tested for emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This is no small task; however a laboratory in Atlanta met the challenge. The results of that project were used to develop a basic understanding of the levels of new product emissions.
Many architects today don't realize that product emissions data is usually available for the items they design into office or school environments. By the time management or administrators see the choices, however, it's usually too late.
One way to determine whether a product can be a potential concern to indoor air quality (IAQ) involves a rather simple and seemingly unscientific method. If you are considering a particular style of carpet, wallpaper, curtains, or other interior furnishing, take a small piece of the product, approximately 2" x 2", and place it inside a sealed glass jar. Set the jar on a window sill facing the southern sun for about two days. Then remove the jar's lid and briefly hold it to your nose. Do you notice an odor? Do you or others react to the air coming from the jar? If so, this may not be the right product for the job.
If you don't have the option of removing the product from the contract, other considerations need to be made including scheduling in a pre-occupancy curing time, premature bake-off, or some other sensible control method.
It's not unusual for us to receive calls from architects who have specified a problem-causing material in a space they've designed. By the time we hear about it though, it's usually too late to remove it. At that point our most logical option becomes one of bringing in large quantities of conditioned outside air to dilute the air in the spaces. |
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