An assessment of indoor air contaminants in buildings with recreational activity

Indoor air quality measurements were carried out during three concerts and one ice hockey game in three different halls. Gas phase components consisted of CO2, CO, and NO whereas for particulate indicators, measure- ments of particle mass distributions 0.05]9 mm., particle number distributions 0.75]10 mm., and particle bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pPAH. were carried out. The calculated ventilation rates did not meet the ventilation requirements for rooms with occupants who smoke to be perceived as acceptable by 80% of the occupants. Average PM9 mass of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter -9 mm. concentrations throughout the events ranged from 318 to 2000 mg my3. Particle concentrations in the size range -0.4 mm measured 203]696 mg my3, the majority of it being attributed to environmental tobacco smoke ETS.. For particle numbers )0.75 mm concentrations ranged from 2=104 to 1.9=105 particles per l while for pPAH, concentrations from 336 to 990 ng my3 were observed. The average event concentrations for the gaseous component CO2 ranged from 1110 to 1700 ppm, for CO 2]3.1 ppm and for NOx 237 ppb. The event to baseline concentration ratios for gaseous components ranged from 1.1 to 4.3 while for particulate indicators generally much greater ratios between 0.7 and 140 were found. Possible health effects inflicted by an exposure based on the measured concentrations of the various parameters are discussed.