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 consiste d of CO2, CO, and NO whereas for particulate indicators, measurements of pa rticle mass distributions (0.05-9 mu m), particle number distributions (0.7 5-10 mu m), 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 accepta ble by 80% of the occupants. Average PM9 (mass of particulate matter with a n aerodynamic diameter <9 mu m) concentrations throughout the events ranged from 318 to 2000 mu g m(-3) Particle concentrations in the size range < 0. 4 mu m measured 203-696 mu g m(-3), the majority of it being attributed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). For particle numbers > 0.75 mu m concent rations ranged from 2 x 10(4) to 1.9 x 10(5) particles per 1 while for pPAH , concentrations from 336 to 990 ng m(-3) 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 r atios for gaseous components ranged from 1.1 to 4.3 while for particulate i ndicators generally much greater ratios between 0.7 and 140 were found. Pos sible health effects inflicted by an exposure based on the measured concent rations of the various parameters are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.