Differing effects of four building materials on viable bacterial communities and VOCs

Indoor environmental quality is a paramount concern among architects. Exposure to VOCs and microorganisms impacts occupant health, yet the role of materials on these exposures remains poorly understood. In this study, we placed four material types in individual microcosms to test whether material ty...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopments in the built environment Vol. 7; p. 100055
Main Authors Mhuireach, Gwynne Á., Dietz, Leslie, Griffiths, Willem, Horve, Patrick Finn, Laguerre, Aurélie, Northcutt, Dale, Vandegrift, Roo, Gall, Elliott, Van Den Wymelenberg, Kevin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2021
Elsevier
Subjects
16S
Built environment
Cross-laminated timber
Microbiome
Sustainable materials
Terpenes
Sustainable materials
Cross-laminated timber
Built environment
Terpenes
16S
Microbiome
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Summary:Indoor environmental quality is a paramount concern among architects. Exposure to VOCs and microorganisms impacts occupant health, yet the role of materials on these exposures remains poorly understood. In this study, we placed four material types in individual microcosms to test whether material type influences bacterial community structure and VOC emission. We used culture-independent methods to characterize bacterial communities and TD-GC-MS to measure VOC emission. We found that viable bacterial communities had different patterns of abundance, diversity, and composition, in comparison with total (viable plus dead cells) bacterial communities. Examining viable bacteria only, Earth had the highest abundance and diversity, unique community composition, and overall negative VOC emission. Timber had the lowest bacterial abundance, composition similar to Gypsum and Concrete, and the highest VOC emission rate. Our research provides further evidence that architects’ decisions about building materials can influence chemical and microbial exposures indoors. •Alpha diversity and composition differed in viable versus total bacterial communities.•Earth had highest bacterial abundance and diversity and overall negative VOC emission.•Timber had lowest bacterial abundance and highest VOC emission.•Building materials can influence chemical and microbial exposures indoors.
ISSN:2666-1659
2666-1659
DOI:10.1016/j.dibe.2021.100055