VOC concentrations in hospital settings: definition of a protocol for monitoring activities in inpatient wards, its application and the first results

Introduction. Indoor Air Quality is one the main issue in which governments are focusing. In healing spaces, several researches are reporting a growing number of data analysis and research works in order to improve users’ health. Currently the main investigations are related to biological and physical risks, otherwise chemical ones are less investigated. Several countries are carried out air quality monitoring in those professional workplaces in which chemicals are used, but also in some typically indoor spaces for building hygiene assessment. Therefore it determinated the definition of guideline values for hospitals because the current scenario lacks of specific norms. Method. A research group has started a monitoring activity of air quality in inpatient rooms, giving rise to a protocol supported by ISO 16000 and guidelines by international institutions. The analysis examines VOCs -referring to WHO (2010) and ISO 16000- considered dangerous, and the influence of thermo-hygrometric, ventilation and concentration of pollutants’ conditions. The methodology with passive samplers requires the use of an activity log for registering all the activities during the day. Results. The application of the protocol on some inpatient rooms permitted to verify the feasibility of the monitoring. Each investigation (one week per month, per a year) considered all the activities, users and processes that influence the indoor air, as well as room configuration, furniture and finishing materials. Although data analysis reports quite adequate values, several inadequate design and management activities cause inadequate values, especially related to formaldehyde (values between 8 and 10,2/ 10 μg/m3), benzene (0,7 and 3,4/ 2 μg/m3) and carbon dioxide (914 and 1154/ 1000 ppm). Conclusion. The analysis is work in progress on some case studies for controlling the indoor air values even during the year, and it is expanding to several hospitals. Although the main goal is to reduce the concentration levels, the aim is to define limit values for VOCs, for guaranteeing healthy healing spaces. These data will support the definition of design and management guidelines for healthy inpatient wards.