Materials-Science Based Approach to Phenol Emissions From a Flooring Material in an Office Building.
Materials-Science Based Approach to Phenol Emissions
From a Flooring Material in an Office Building.
(368 K)
Martin, J. W.; Persily, A. K.; Guenther, F. R.; Nguyen,
T.; Liggett, W. S., Jr.; Byrd, W. E.; Oakley, L.
Indoor Air Quality and Climate, 7th International
Conference. Proceedings. Indoor Air '96. Volume 2.
July 21-26, 1996, Nagoya, Japan, 109-114 pp, 1996.
Keywords:
phenol; emissions; air quality; flooring; epoxy; office
buildings; sampling; thermogravimetric analysis
Abstract:
After several years of indoor air quality complaints in
an office building, it was hypothesized that phenol
emissions from an epoxy floor-leveling material were the
source of the complaints. A materials-science based
study was performed to ascertain whether phenol, or any
other volatile organic compound, was being emitted from
the floor-leveling material. The chemical composition
and physical properties of the leveling material were
determined using a variety of analytical procedures
typical of a materials-science based approach. It was
concluded that the floor-leveling material contained
phenol, and that the measured concentrations ranged from
0.25% to 0.52% of the material's mass. Several
strategies for mitigating the phenol emissions were
considered, and it was concluded that the most practical
strategy would be to remove the floor-leveling material
from the building and replace it with a portland
cement-based material.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899