A health performance evaluation model of apartment building indoor air quality

As illnesses attributable to deteriorating indoor air quality (IAQ) increase, people are becoming more aware of the health effects of IAQ because most people in Korea spend >80% of their time indoors. Notably, the IAQ of apartment buildings accounts for a massive share of the construction volume in Korea, which is a highly critical issue. Evaluation of health effects of IAQ would influence not only the statutory criteria for air quality improvement but could also contribute to the development of building design standards. In addition, such evaluation supports quantification efforts for the selection of wholesome construction materials and techniques. Evaluation of the health effects of IAQ is a complex exercise that would require comprehensive consideration of factors such as the concentrations and occurrences of various known, harmful indoor pollutants, ventilation performance in a building and temperature/humidity. Evaluation involves not only quantitative assessment of pollutants but also evaluation of IAQ based on human perception. The aim of this study was to develop a model to evaluate IAQ in quantitative terms based on health impact, but with an emphasis on apartment buildings.