SENSORY CHARACTERIZATION OF EMISSIONS FROM MATERIALS

The exposure-response relationship between the concentration of air po llutants and perceived air quality was studied for eight materials oft en found indoors and for a mixture of three of the materials. Samples of the materials were placed in a ventilated test chamber. The exhaust air from the test chamber was diluted with different rates of unpollu ted air to obtain five different concentrations of polluted air. A sen sory panel assessed the perceived quality of the five concentrations o f polluted air. The exposure-response relationship differed between th e materials and also from the corresponding relationship for human bio effluents. The exposure-response relationships can be described by str aight lines in a log-probit plot and be defined by two constants chara cteristic for each material. Determination of the two constants charac terizing each material requires sensory assessments at least at two po llution concentrations. The sensory pollution load for a material may change with the pollution concentration in the air. The use df a simpl e measurement method based on a dilution system connected to a ventila ted small-scale test chamber is proposed to characterize the emissions from materials in sensory and chemical terms. (C) Indoor Air (1997).