Loading...
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Subjects
Volatile organic compounds, Indoor air pollution -- Measurement, Motor fuels -- Environmental aspects, Air -- Pollution, Air flow -- Measurement
Advisor
Elliott Gall
Student Level
Undergraduate
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of air pollutants that can adversely impact human health, engage in chemistry indoors, and meaningfully degrade indoor and outdoor urban air quality. Utilizing data extracted from a three-month campaign conducted at Harriet Tubman Middle School in Portland, Oregon—an institution built near Interstate 5—this study modeled airflows through the school and quantified source strengths for VOCs over the course of two days. Emission rates for seven compounds that are traditionally associated with human metabolism and activity were calculated, as were source strengths for BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene), which are typically associated with traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). In terms of per-person VOC emission rates, it was found that the values determined for some of the chosen compounds were in close agreement with the limited literature that exists on the subject, and that some varied greatly, likely due to differences in the buildings themselves, the occupants and their activities, and dissimilar experimental designs across studies. In terms of BTEX compounds, source apportionment revealed that the majority of their presence was due to supply air, which was expected considering the elevated levels of outdoor TRAP constituents in the near-roadway building.
Please provide feedback using the following form:
Presentation Feedback Form
Rights
© Copyright the author(s)
IN COPYRIGHT:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DISCLAIMER:
The purpose of this statement is to help the public understand how this Item may be used. When there is a (non-standard) License or contract that governs re-use of the associated Item, this statement only summarizes the effects of some of its terms. It is not a License, and should not be used to license your Work. To license your own Work, use a License offered at https://creativecommons.org/
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35431
Modeling Airflows and VOC Source Strengths to an Occupied School
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of air pollutants that can adversely impact human health, engage in chemistry indoors, and meaningfully degrade indoor and outdoor urban air quality. Utilizing data extracted from a three-month campaign conducted at Harriet Tubman Middle School in Portland, Oregon—an institution built near Interstate 5—this study modeled airflows through the school and quantified source strengths for VOCs over the course of two days. Emission rates for seven compounds that are traditionally associated with human metabolism and activity were calculated, as were source strengths for BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene), which are typically associated with traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). In terms of per-person VOC emission rates, it was found that the values determined for some of the chosen compounds were in close agreement with the limited literature that exists on the subject, and that some varied greatly, likely due to differences in the buildings themselves, the occupants and their activities, and dissimilar experimental designs across studies. In terms of BTEX compounds, source apportionment revealed that the majority of their presence was due to supply air, which was expected considering the elevated levels of outdoor TRAP constituents in the near-roadway building.
Please provide feedback using the following form:
Presentation Feedback Form