Mr.
Offermann will present the results of the first major study of
ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ) in new homes in California.
Concerns have been raised regarding whether households in new
California homes use windows, doors, exhaust fans, and other mechanical
ventilation devices enough to remove indoor air pollutants and excess
moisture. However, few measurements of ventilation and indoor
pollutant levels have been made in California homes of recent vintage.
The goals of this field study were to measure, and analyze the
relationships between, ventilation characteristics and IAQ in new,
single-family detached homes in California. Information was
obtained from 24-hour measurements in 108 homes in multiple seasons and
regions of the state to help characterize the full range of exposure to
indoor pollutants in such homes. A subset of homes with
outdoor air mechanical ventilation systems was also studied.
The study results indicate that all of the homes had indoor levels of
formaldehyde that exceeded the Proposition 65 “No Significant Risk
Level” for lifetime cancer risk, and most of the homes also exceeded
the Proposition 65 level for acetaldehyde. In addition 59%
of the homes had indoor levels of formaldehyde that exceeded ARB’s IAQ
Guideline of 33 µg/m3 (27 ppb) for preventing acute (irritant) health
effects. Two-thirds of the homes did not meet the proposed
state minimum for outdoor air exchange rates of 0.35 air changes per
hour. Over 80% of the homes with the direct outdoor air type
of mechanical ventilation system did not meet the proposed state
standard for outdoor air exchange, apparently due to short ventilation
times and low air flow rates.
Mr. Offermann will discuss these and other results of the study, and
their implications for building product selection, home design, and
home operation. The California Energy Commission was the primary
funding source for this study; they are using the results to help
revise ventilation requirements and compliance programs for the state’s
building energy efficiency standards. The ARB will use the results to
update its assessments of Californians’ exposures to toxic air
contaminants and other pollutants, and to recommend effective
strategies for reducing indoor air pollution.
Francis (Bud) J. Offermann,
is founder and President of Indoor Environmental Engineering
(IEE), a San Francisco based building science research and consulting
firm. Mr. Offermann directs an interdisciplinary
team of environmental scientists, chemists, and mechanical engineers in
IAQ building investigations, healthy building design projects, and
laboratory chamber measurements of material and consumer product
contaminant emission rates and air cleaner performance.
Mr. Offermann has received various State and Federal research grants
regarding IAQ and ventilation field studies, tracer gas techniques, in
situ contaminant emission rate measurements, and the development of IAQ
measurement instrumentation. He has published 63 scientific papers on
the measurement and mitigation of indoor air pollution. He
served for many years on national committees for building ventilation
standards and materials emissions testing. He currently
serves on the ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee, the ACGIH
Bioaerosols Committee, the U.S. Green Building Council Indoor
Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Group, and the ASTM D22 IAQ
Subcommittee. Previously, Mr. Offermann was a Staff Scientist
with the Building Ventilation and IAQ Program, Energy and Environment
Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California.
Mr. Offermann received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976 and his M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from Stanford University in 1985.
For
more information on this Seminar please contact:
Tom Phillips at (916) 322-7145 or send email to: tphillips@arb.ca.gov
For
a complete listing of the ARB Chairman's Series and the related
documentation for
each one of the series please
check this page
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