Indoor Air Quality Concerns; Air Contaminants; Contaminant Sources; Outdoor Contaminant Sources - Honeywell AUTOMATIC CONTROL Engineering Manual

INDOOR AIR QUALITY FUNDAMENTALS

INDOOR AIR QUALITY CONCERNS

AIR CONTAMINANTS

Air contaminants are categorized by location and type.
Location of contaminants is divided between outdoor and
indoor. Outdoor air contamination results from natural or man-
made phenomena that occur outdoors or indoors. Contaminant
types include particulate, gas, vapor, radionuclide.

CONTAMINANT SOURCES

Outdoor Contaminant Sources

Outdoor contaminant sources are divided into above ground
and below ground sources. Above ground sources are
subdivided into man made and naturally occurring sources. Man
made sources are those such as electric power generating plants,
various modes of transportation (automobile, bus, train ship,
airplane ), industrial processes, mining and smelting,
construction, and agriculture. These contaminants can be
loosely classified as dusts, fumes, mists, smogs, vapors , gases,
smokes that are solid particulate matter (smoke frequently
contains liquid particles ), and smokes that are suspended liquid
particulates. Naturally occurring contaminant sources include
pollen, fungus spores, viruses, and bacteria. Gaseous
Table 1. Annual Median Concentrations for TSP, NO 2 , O 3 , & CO—1979. a
Location TSP (annual average)
Baltimore
Boston
Burbank, Ca.
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Louisville
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New York
Philadelphia
ENGINEERING MANUAL OF AUTOMATION CONTROL
Concentration
b NO (1 hr average)
2
43-102
67
—
43-70
56-125
47-87
58-155
43-73
80-194
52-135
51-147
48-81
90
60-102
47-105
45-87
41-82
40-77
51-109
contaminants such as methane are produced both naturally, by
animals and decay, and by man made activity such as landfills.
Location near a fossil fuel power plant, refinery, chemical
production facility, sewage treatment plant, municipal refuse
dump or incinerator, animal feed lot, or other like facility will
have a significant effect on the air introduced into a building.
Below ground sources include radon gas and its by products.
Radon gas is found in all soils in various concentrations. It is a
product of the radioactive decay of radium. Radon, in turn,
generates other radioactive contaminants as it decays. Radon
gas enters buildings primarily through the foundation. Radon
can then decay through a succession of decay products,
producing metallic ions. These products become attached to
particulate matter suspended in the air and can then be inhaled
causing health problems.
Outdoor air pollution is monitored and regulated at the
Federal level by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) which has set primary and secondary standards for several
pollutants known as criteria pollutants. These criteria pollutants
include: nitrogen dioxide (NO
(CO), sulfur oxides, nonmethane hydrocarbons, lead (Pb), and
total suspended particulates (TSP). The EPA estimates that 50
percent of American cities do not meet all these standards for
1996. See Tables 1 and 2.
3
µg/m
O (1 hr average)
3
45
75
124
37
63
60
89 c
59 c
89
68
90 c
39
91 c
85 117
70 c
86 c
65 c
62 c
49
57
85
154
), ozone (O ), carbon monoxide
2 3
mg/m
CO (1 hr average)
20 1.5
3.5
—
39 3.5
14 1.2
29 2.9
24 1.0
26 2.0
39 1.4
37 4.6
14 1.8
d
1.0
33 2.7
2.6
31 1.5
41 1.4
1.8
—
d
2.6
35 5.5
39 3.2
(continued)
3