A review of the emission of VOCs from polymeric materials used in buildings

Building and furnishing materials and consumers products are important sources of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the indoor environment. The emission from materials is usually continuous and may last for many years in a building. The available evidence indicates that VOCs can cause adverse health effects to the building occupants and may contribute to symptoms of ‘Sick Building Syndrome’. Control of VOC emission should increasingly become an important consideration for the design and manufacture of polymeric materials used in buildings. The EC Construction Products Directive ‘Essential Requirements’ set a framework for limiting the use of materials that could pose a health risk to building occupants. Furthermore, the on-going development of voluntary labelling schemes and data bases of material emissions that could be used by building designers, should further strengthen the demand for ‘low VOC emitting’ products. This paper reviews available information about the emission of VOCs from polymeric building materials, the level of emissions in the indoor environment and the requirements for testing of the materials.