Abstract
Complaints of office workers on health disturbances and the high number of employees in this field
highlight the necessity to identify work environment pollutants (organic substances) and estimate their possible impact on health.
The pollution of office workplaces was estimated by sampling volatile organic compounds (VOC) and detecting the concentration of 19 substances (aldehydes, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters) with HPLC and gas chromatography. The concentration depends on the organization of ventilation system and the workload of office devices like printers and copiers in measured workplace. The concentration of VOC is higher in air indoors when compared to outdoors for the sole exception of toluene concentration which is higher outdoors and could be related to transport intensity. The simultaneous detection of 19 VOC in the indoor air of offices and the fact that 48.6% of aldehyde concentrations and 18% of other organic substance concentrations are higher than the normative value showed a possible impact of pollution on workers’ health.
highlight the necessity to identify work environment pollutants (organic substances) and estimate their possible impact on health.
The pollution of office workplaces was estimated by sampling volatile organic compounds (VOC) and detecting the concentration of 19 substances (aldehydes, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters) with HPLC and gas chromatography. The concentration depends on the organization of ventilation system and the workload of office devices like printers and copiers in measured workplace. The concentration of VOC is higher in air indoors when compared to outdoors for the sole exception of toluene concentration which is higher outdoors and could be related to transport intensity. The simultaneous detection of 19 VOC in the indoor air of offices and the fact that 48.6% of aldehyde concentrations and 18% of other organic substance concentrations are higher than the normative value showed a possible impact of pollution on workers’ health.
| Translated title of the contribution | Pollution of Office Workplace Air with Volatile Organic Compounds and Estimation of Possible Impact on Workers’ Health |
|---|---|
| Original language | Latvian |
| Title of host publication | Rīgas Stradiņa universitātes Zinātniskie raksti |
| Subtitle of host publication | 2010. gada medicīnas nozares pētnieciskā darba publikācijas |
| Place of Publication | Rīga |
| Publisher | Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte |
| Pages | 253-260 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Volume | 2 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-9984-788-79-1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
| Event | RSU Scientific Conference 2010 - Rīga, Latvia. , Rīga, Latvia Duration: 18 Mar 2010 → 19 Mar 2010 |
Publication series
| Name | RSU Zinātniskie raksti |
|---|---|
| ISSN (Print) | 1407-9453 |
Conference
| Conference | RSU Scientific Conference 2010 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Latvia |
| City | Rīga |
| Period | 18/03/10 → 19/03/10 |
| Other | RSU zinātniskā konference 2010 |
Keywords*
- indoor air pollution
- volatile organic compounds
- office workplaces
Field of Science*
- 3.3 Health sciences
Publication Type*
- 3.2. Articles or chapters in other proceedings other than those included in 3.1., with an ISBN or ISSN code