Concentrations of Formic Acid, Acetic Acid, and Ammonia in Newly Constructed Houses

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 17; no. 6; p. 1940
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Norimichi, Nakaoka, Hiroko, Eguchi, Akifumi, Hanazato, Masamichi, Nakayama, Yoshitake, Tsumura, Kayo, Takaguchi, Kohki, Takaya, Kazunari, Todaka, Emiko, Mori, Chisato
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.03.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acids; Aldehydes; Ammonia; Bedrooms; Chemical compounds; Chromatography; Flooring; Formic acid; Houses; Housing; Humidity; Indoor air quality; Indoor environments; Methods; Principal components analysis; Residential areas; Room temperature; Scientific imaging; Standard deviation; Studies; Ventilation; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; United States > US; Japan; formic acid; ammonia; sum of volatile organic compounds; indoor air quality; acetic acid; newly built houses
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17061940

Herein, the concentrations of formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia in samples of indoor air for 47 new houses were measured two weeks after completion. The houses were fabricated with light-gauge steel structures. The measurements were performed in living rooms and bedrooms without furniture and outdoors. Air samples were analyzed using ion chromatography. The mean values were 28 (living room), 30 (bedroom), and 20 μg m (outdoor air) for formic acid; 166 (living room), 151 (bedroom), and 51 μg m (outdoor air) for acetic acid; and 73 (living room), 76 (bedroom), and 21 μg m (outdoor air) for ammonia. The total values of the three substances accounted for 39.4-40.7% of the sum of chemical compound values. The analyzed compounds were indicated by two principal components (PC), PC1 (30.1%) and PC2 (9%), with 39.1% total variance. Formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia were positively aligned with PC1 and negatively aligned with PC2. Factors such as room temperature, aldehydes, and phthalates were positively aligned with PC1 and negatively aligned with PC2. Furthermore, concentrations of formic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia were significantly and positively correlated with room temperature ( < 0.05).