Multi-criteria ranking of indoor air Quality in non-industrial environments

Abstract

Abstract
Relative to other western nations, there is a paucity of information on indoor air organic pollutants in Australia. While some data are available on the indoor levels of volatile organic compounds in Australian dwellings, corresponding information on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons levels is scarce. Therefore, this paper reports the results of the characterisation and quantification of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in non-industrial environments in an Australian city. The most abundant and most frequently encountered compounds include, nonanal, decanal, texanol, acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene, hexanal, ethyl benzene, the xylenes and C3-benzene. The distribution of these and other compounds found in the buildings have been rationalised in terms of indoor activities and the building characteristics (distance from a major roads, floor materials, use of air extractors etc). In addition, multi-criteria decision making procedures have been employed to rank the buildings on the basis of forty indoor air quality-influencing variables. This approach offers a useful tool that could facilitate the identification of environments requiring attention, and assist the formulation and prioritisation of control strategies.