Source of Phenol Emissions Affecting the Indoor Air of an Office Building.
Source of Phenol Emissions Affecting the Indoor Air of
an Office Building.
(1650 K)
Martin, J. W.; Guenther, F. R.; Nguyen, T.; Liggett, W.
S., Jr.; Byrd, W. E.; Oakley, L.
NISTIR 5353; 49 p. February 1994.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB94-154382
Keywords:
phenols; emissions; indoor air quality; office
buildings; floor-leveling material; gas chromatography;
mass spectrometry; liquid chromatography; sampling plan;
thermogravimetric analysis; UV-spectrophotometry;
volatile organic compound
Abstract:
For several years, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) employees occupying Floors 3
through 5 of the Silver Spring Metro Center Building One
(SSMC-1) in Silver Spring, MD have complained about
ailments which they have associated with poor indoor air
quality. NOAA and the General Services Administration
(GSA) commissioned at least six indoor air quality
surveys to seek the causes of these complaints. In one
of the later surveys, it was concluded that phenol
emissions from an epoxy floor-leveling material used in
leveling the floor slabs were causing the indoor air
quality complaints from Floors 3 through 5. To obtain
an independent analysis and assessment, NOAA and GSA
asked the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) to ascertain whether phenol (or any other
volatile organic compound) was being emitted from the
epoxy floor-leveling material and, if so, to recommend
remedial actions for mitigating or eliminating the
emissions. Prior to investigating the epoxy
floor-leveling material, a review was made of the
construction and occupancy history of SSMC-1, the
installation of the floor-leveling material, occupant
complaints about the poor indoor air quality, and the
indoor air quality surveys.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899