VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can cause health problems for residents and are one of the causes of sick building syndrome. Therefore, this study measured VOCs in 116 houses in the winter and 66 in the summer in Japan, including detached and apartment houses. The diffusion sampler method was used...

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Main Authors: Sangin Park, Naoki Kagi, Wataru Umishio, Kenichi Hasegawa, Teruaki Mitamura, Jo Tamura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2024.2325463
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author Sangin Park
Naoki Kagi
Wataru Umishio
Kenichi Hasegawa
Teruaki Mitamura
Jo Tamura
author_facet Sangin Park
Naoki Kagi
Wataru Umishio
Kenichi Hasegawa
Teruaki Mitamura
Jo Tamura
author_sort Sangin Park
collection DOAJ
description Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can cause health problems for residents and are one of the causes of sick building syndrome. Therefore, this study measured VOCs in 116 houses in the winter and 66 in the summer in Japan, including detached and apartment houses. The diffusion sampler method was used for field measurements. Living rooms and bedrooms were sampled to confirm the concentration characteristics and differences between the two locations. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the type of house, residence period, and type of ventilation system used. Most VOC concentrations did not exceed the Japanese guidelines during the winter and summer. However, in the winter, the acetaldehyde concentrations exceeded the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) guidelines, reaching 14.7% in the living room and 12.9% in the bedroom. The VOC concentration was higher in apartments than in detached houses. Even among detached houses, built-for-sale houses had slightly higher VOC concentrations than custom-made houses. The concentration of VOCs according to characteristics, such as the residence period, did not show significant differences except for acetaldehyde. In houses with unbalanced ventilation, formaldehyde and other VOC concentrations were higher in the living room and bedroom than in houses with balanced ventilation.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1347-2852
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
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series Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
spelling doaj-art-fd6ba423a7f2472faebf2cbbbbfddb812025-08-20T03:52:57ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering1347-28522025-05-012431774179010.1080/13467581.2024.23254632325463VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilationSangin Park0Naoki Kagi1Wataru Umishio2Kenichi Hasegawa3Teruaki Mitamura4Jo Tamura5Tokyo Institute of TechnologyTokyo Institute of TechnologyTokyo Institute of TechnologyAkita Prefectural UniversityMaebashi Institute of TechnologyAkita Prefectural UniversityVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) can cause health problems for residents and are one of the causes of sick building syndrome. Therefore, this study measured VOCs in 116 houses in the winter and 66 in the summer in Japan, including detached and apartment houses. The diffusion sampler method was used for field measurements. Living rooms and bedrooms were sampled to confirm the concentration characteristics and differences between the two locations. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the type of house, residence period, and type of ventilation system used. Most VOC concentrations did not exceed the Japanese guidelines during the winter and summer. However, in the winter, the acetaldehyde concentrations exceeded the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) guidelines, reaching 14.7% in the living room and 12.9% in the bedroom. The VOC concentration was higher in apartments than in detached houses. Even among detached houses, built-for-sale houses had slightly higher VOC concentrations than custom-made houses. The concentration of VOCs according to characteristics, such as the residence period, did not show significant differences except for acetaldehyde. In houses with unbalanced ventilation, formaldehyde and other VOC concentrations were higher in the living room and bedroom than in houses with balanced ventilation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2024.2325463volatile organic compoundscarbonyl compoundsresidential buildingresidence periodventilation system
spellingShingle Sangin Park
Naoki Kagi
Wataru Umishio
Kenichi Hasegawa
Teruaki Mitamura
Jo Tamura
VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
volatile organic compounds
carbonyl compounds
residential building
residence period
ventilation system
title VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
title_full VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
title_fullStr VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
title_full_unstemmed VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
title_short VOC concentrations in houses in Japan: correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
title_sort voc concentrations in houses in japan correlations with housing characteristics and types of ventilation
topic volatile organic compounds
carbonyl compounds
residential building
residence period
ventilation system
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2024.2325463
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AT kenichihasegawa vocconcentrationsinhousesinjapancorrelationswithhousingcharacteristicsandtypesofventilation
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