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Exposure to high concentration of formaldehyde: a case study
Marchant, R.; Yoshida, K.; Figley, D. A.
https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits
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Construction
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Exposure to High Concentration
of Formaldehyde.
A
Case Study
by R. Marchant, K. Yoshida and D.A. Figley
ANALYZED
Reprinted from
Transactions, Indoor Air Quality in Cold Climates:
Hazards and Abatement Measures
APCA Specialty Conference
Ottawa, Ontario, April 1985
p. 148-154
(IRC Paper No. 1384)
Price $3.00
NRCC 25995
NAC-
CISTIBLDG.
RES.
L I B R A R Y
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B I ~ L I O T H ~ C ~ E
Rech. BSri-. C N R C-
ICJST1
ABSTRACT
A series of health problems suffered by an elderly couple soon
after they occupied a new
2 4 0 3 3mobile home and initial
measurement of an indoor formaldehyde concentration of
0.7ppm
prompted an investigation of the formaldehyde sources.
Peu de temps apres avoir emmgnagg dans une maison mobile neuve
de
240m3, un couple
3g6 a CprouvC toute une sCrie de problGmes
de sant6; apres avoir relev6 dans l'habitation une
concentration de formaldChyde de
0,7ppm, on a proc6d6
3une
6tude visant
3 dgterminer la provenance de cette substance.
EXPOSURE
TO
HIGH CONCENTRATION OF FORMALDEHYDE.
A CASE STUDY
R. Marchant,
Occupational and Environmental Health Physician, Saskatoon
K. Yoshida, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon,
and D.A. Figley, Division of Building Research, National Research Council of
Canada, Saskatoon
Indoor air quality has become a serious concern for home dwellers since the
introduction of energy-efficient building technology. Combined with
increased use of synthetic building materials, low ventilation rates can
result in build-up of formaldehyde gases.
A series of health problems suffered by an elderly couple soon after they
moved into a new 240-m3 mobile home and initial measurement of an indoor
formaldehyde concentration of 0.7 ppm prompted an investigation to determine
the source of contamination. The formaldehyde concentrations were
persistent, day and night, and remained in the same order of magnitude in
all rooms, indicating a widespread source of emission.
The occupants' medical history and physical examination indicated no
problems that could account for the current symptoms except formaldehyde
exposure. Protection was by evacuation of the premises rather than
substitution of the hazardous (building) materials or improvement of the
ventilation system. Symptoms characteristic of formaldehyde sensitivity
subsided when the subjects moved to an ordinary home.
Reprinted with permission from the transactions Indoor Air Quality
inCold
Climates: Hazards and Abatement Measures, published in 1986 by the Air
- - -
EXPOSURE TO HIGH CONCENTRATION OF FORMALDEHYDE.
A CASE STUDY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Indoor a i r q u a l i t y i s of i n c r e a s i n g c o n c e r n a s t h e number of
e n e r g y - e f f i c i e n t a i r - t i g h t b u i l d i n g s grows. S t u d i e s show t h a t t h e a i r
q u a l i t y of mobile homes i s of even g r e a t e r concern t h a n t h a t of c o n v e n t i o n a l
_
r e s i d e n t i a l b u i l d i n g s because of some of t h e b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s used. Manymay g i v e o f f formaldehyde g a s ( 1 ) . This s t u d y d e a l s w i t h a m u l t i -
d i s c i p l i n a r y approach t o t h e problems a s s o c i a t e d w i t h formaldehyde
o f f - g a s s i n g i n a mobile home, i n c l u d i n g i n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n e , e m i s s i o n s o u r c e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , and h e a l t h assessment.
I n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n e s t u d i e s d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e measured formaldehyde
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n mobile homes v a r y e x t e n s i v e l y : from 0.1 t o 0.5 ppm (mean
0.36 ppm) f o r two mobile homes i n P i t t s b u r g h , PA, up t o 1.77 ppm (mean of 0.44 ppm) f o r 200 mobile homes r e g i s t e r i n g c o m p l a i n t s i n Washington S t a t e , t o 3.0 ppm (mean 0.4 ppm) f o r 431 mobile homes r e g i s t e r i n g c o m p l a i n t s i n Minnesota, and from 0.023 t o 4.2 ppm (mean of 0.88 ppm) f o r mobile homes
r e g i s t e r i n g c o m p l a i n t s i n Wisconsin ( 2 ) .
The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of formaldehyde i n s i d e homes f l u c t u a t e s d i u r n a l l y and
s e a s o n a l l y a s w e l l a s w i t h t e m p e r a t u r e and humidity. Assessments of
e m i s s i o n s o u r c e s f o r t h e o f f - g a s s i n g of formaldehyde have shown t h a t p r e s s e d
wood p r o d u c t s c a n be a major s o u r c e ( 3 ) . Modern mobile home c o n s t r u c t i o n
p r a c t i c e s have t e n d e d t o make u s e of m a t e r i a l s ( 4 ) t h a t may be bonded w i t h urea-formaldehyde r e s i n .
H e a l t h e f f e c t s t h a t have been documented seem t o c o r r e l a t e w i t h t h e
e n v i r o n m e n t a l measurements. Symptoms may i n c l u d e i r r i t a t i o n of t h e e y e s and
t h r o a t , d i s t u r b e d s l e e p , u n u s u a l t h i r s t on awakening ( 5 ) , coughing and wheezing, d i s o r i e n t a t i o n , d i a r r h o e a , nausea and vomiting ( 6 ) , d i z z i n e s s and
l e t h a r g y , headache, l o s s of a p p e t i t e , b u r n i n g s e n s a t i o n of t h e s k i n
(7),
asthma and s e n s i t i z a t i o n ( 6 ) . Few of t h e s e symptoms have accompanying
p h y s i c a l s i g n s , b u t many have been documented i n o c c u p a n t s of mobile homes ( 8 , 9 ) .
2.0 INVESTIGATION
2.1 General
The mobile home under i n v e s t i g a t i o n (CSA approved and b u i l t i n Canada i n 1983) was occupied from March t o May 1984 by a n e l d e r l y c o u p l e , t h e o n l y
o c c u p a n t s s i n c e i t s manufacture. It was l o c a t e d i n a mobile home p a r k i n a
suburban d i s t r i c t of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The home was 4 m wide m d
24 rn l o n g (240 m3 of volume) w i t h a l i v i n g room, a t t a c h e d k i t c h e n , bathroom,
and t h r e e bedrooms.
A l l of t h e i n t e r i o r w a l l s were covered w i t h p a r t i c l e board p a n e l l i n g
w i t h a l a m i n a t e d wood g r a i n o r " l i n e n look" f i n i s h ; t h e back was u n f i n i s h e d .
The c e i l i n g was covered w i t h g l o s s y p l a s t i c t i l e s . P a r t i c l e board was u s e d
f o r cupboards, s h e l v i n g and c o u n t e r t o p s , t h e u n d e r s i d e s u n f i n i s h e d . The
s u b f l o o r was made of 19-mm p a r t i c l e board and w a s covered by u n d e r l a y and
w a l l - t o - w a l l c a r p e t i n g of medium s h a g i n t h e l i v i n g room, s h o r t s h a g i n t h e
bedrooms, and l i n o l e u m i n t h e k i t c h e n and bathroom. The e x t e r i o r , f l o o r ,
and c e i l i n g - - r e i n s u l a t e d w i t h g l a s s f i b r e i n s u l a t i o n . The c r a w l s p a c e
N a t u r a l ( w i t h o u t f o r c e d a i r f l o w ) v e n t i l a t i o n w a s p r o v i d e d by lOO-mm
d i a m e t e r d u c t i n t a k e s i n t h e n o r t h e a s t c o r n e r o f t h e l i v i n g room and i n t h e southwest c o r n e r of t h e m a s t e r bedroom c l o s e t 1.8 m above t h e f l o o r . A r a n g e hood i n t h e k i t c h e n p r o v i d e d f o r c e d a i r f l o w . The bathroom was n o t equipped w i t h a n e x h a u s t fan. The n a t u r a l gas f o r c e d - a i r f u r n a c e was p r o v i d e d w i t h a 1251nm d i a m e t e r f r e s h a i r i n t a k e .
2.2 H e a l t h E f f e c t s
The owners became ill upon moving i n t o t h e i r new mobile home, a l t h o u g h t h e y had been w e l l u n t i l t h e n e x c e p t f o r c h r o n i c i l l n e s s e s ( d e c r e a s e d
h e a r i n g , Rheumatoid a r t h r i t i s , a n g i n a , a t r i a l f i b r i l l a t i o n , o b e s i t y , h y p e r t e n s i o n and d i v e r t i c u l i t i s ) . The w i f e was i n t h e home a l l t h e time.
Her
e a r l y symptoms ( f i r s t n i g h t ) were n a u s e a , v o m i t i n g , and d i z z i n e s s . A s time went on t h e symptoms i n c r e a s e d t o i n c l u d e headache, nausea, vomiting, s l e e p d i s t u r b a n c e , d i z z i n e s s , s h o r t n e s s of b r e a t h , b u r n i n g e y e s , runny n o s e , and c h r o n i c f a t i q u e . Headaches were r e l i e v e d by 292's and i c e packs;d i z z i n e s s was r e s o l v e d by b r e a t h i n g f r e s h a i r .
The husband developed r u n n i n g e y e s and nose. On waking h e e x p e r i e n c e d headache, b l u r r e d v i s i o n , d i z z i n e s s , and f a t i g u e . H i s s l e e p w a s f r e q u e n t l y i n t e r r u p t e d . He s p e n t h i s days d r i v i n g a t a x i c a b and b e f o r e g o i n g t o work h e would have t o walk o u t s i d e f o r h a l f a n hour t o " c l e a r h i s head."
Both were non-smokers and n o n d r i n k e r s ; t h e y had n o t e x p e r i e n c e d any i n f e c t i o n s o r e x a c e r a b a t i o n s of c h r o n i c i l l n e s s t h a t c o u l d account f o r t h e i r c u r r e n t problems. The p h y s i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n w a s normal e x c e p t f o r t h o s e s i g n s r e l a t e d t o c h r o n i c a i l m e n t s .
2.3 Formaldehyde Sampling Procedure
Air sampling ( s t a t i o n a r y a r e a , NIOSH s t a n d a r d No. P & CAM 125 proposed by P h y s i c a l and Chemical A n a l y s i s Branch of t h e N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e f o r
O c c u p a t i o n a l H e a l t h and S a f e t y ) c o n s i s t e d of a t r a i n of two midget impingers f i l l e d w i t h 20 mL of a b s o r b i n g s o l u t i o n ( d i s t i l l e d d e i o n i z e d w a t e r ) and a s p i r a t e d a t 1 L/min f o r 60 min (10). The c o l l e c t i o n e f f i c i e n c y of t h i s method i s e x p e c t e d t o be 95%. The sampler i n l e t was k e p t 0.3 m above t h e f l o o r s o as t o c o l l e c t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e zone of ambient a i r c o n t a i n i n g formaldehyde.
The a n a l y t i c a l method ( 1 0 ) used t h e c h r o m o t r o p i c a c i d - s u l f u r i c a c i d method. Formaldehyde c o l l e c t e d i n t h e a b s o r b i n g s o l u t i o n r e a c t s w i t h t h e chromotropic a c i d - s u l f u r i c a c i d t o form a p u r p l e mono-cationic chromogen. Absorbtance of t h e c o l o u r e d s o l u t i o n is r e a d i n a s p e c t r o p h o t o m e t e r a t 580-~lm wavelength. The measuring r a n g e of t h i s method i s 0.1 t o 2.0 ppm, w i t h a p r e c i s i o n of 25%.
2.4 Formaldehyde Emission Sources
High, uniform HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n d i c a t e d a n e v e n l y d i s t r i b u t e d s o u r c e r a t h e r t h a n a p o i n t s o u r c e . P r e l i m i n a r y o b s e r v a t i o n s of f u r n i s h i n g s and o c c u p a n t - r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s d i d n o t i n d i c a t e p o t e n t i a l formaldehyde s o u r c e s , and an i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e t r a i l e r c o n s t r u c t i o n m a t e r i a l s w a s
i n i t i a t e d . S i n c e i n t e r i o r - g r a d e p a r t i c l e b o a r d s ( u s u a l l y bonded w i t h
urea-formaldehyde r e s i n ) have been shown t o be p o t e n t i a l l y h i g h formaldehyde s o u r c e s ( l l ) , t e s t s were conducted t o d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i v e e m i s s i v e
s t r e n g t h s of t h e b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s used i n t h e home. Measurement of formaldehyde o f f - g a s s i n g from b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s i n v o l v e s p l a c i n g material
samples i n an e n v i r o n m e n t a l chamber w i t h c o n t r o l l e d c o n d i t i o n s of
method cannot be used f o r i n - s i t u t e s t i n g of m a t e r i a l s . Matthews
( 3 )
h a s proposed a p o r t a b l e s u r f a c e e m i s s i o n m o n i t o r f o r measuring formaldehyder e l e a s e from b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s , b u t t h i s s y s t e m i s n o t commercially
a v a i l a b l e .
T e s t i n g f o r t h e r e l a t i v e HCOH e m i s s i o n s t r e n t h s of t h e v a r i o u s p a r t i c l e
board s u r f a c e s i n t h e t r a i l e r i n v o l v e d c o v e r i n g a s u r f a c e w i t h a 2 L
r e c t a n g u l a r p o l y e t h y l e n e box and a l l o w i n g 24 h t o e l a p s e u n t i l t h e HCOH
r e a c h e d a n e q u i l i b r i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n . The c o n c e n t r a t i o n was t h e n measured.
Although t h i s i s n o t a s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t , i t i s u s e f u l f o r r a n k i n g t h e
r e l a t i v e s t r e n g t h s of s u r f a c e e m i s s i o n s o u r c e s ; c o n c e n t r a t i o n v a l u e s t h u s
o b t a i n e d a r e n o t d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o i n d o o r a i r p o l l u t a n t l e v e l s . This t e s t
was c a r r i e d o u t on c a r p e t s , t h e f r o n t and back of w a l l p a n e l l i n g , and
k i t c h e n c a b i n e t s . Measurements of t h e HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n were a l s o t a k e n i n
w a l l c a v i t i e s , c l o s e t s , and k i t c h e n cupboards. The r e s u l t s a r e g i v e n i n
Table 1.
2.5 Formaldehyde L e v e l s
The t e s t v a l u e s ( e m i s s i o n s o u r c e s ) l i s t e d i n Table 1 were u s e d a s
i n d i c a t i o n of p o t e n t i a l s o u r c e s of HCOH. The l a r g e s u r f a c e a r e a and h i g h
e q u i l i b r i u m c o n c e n t r a t i o n of p a r t i c l e board w a l l p a n e l l i n g s u g g e s t t h a t i t i s t h e major HCOH s o u r c e i n t h e mobile home. By c o n t r a s t , t h e p a r t i c l e board s u b f l o o r / c a r p e t s y s t e m had e q u i l i b r i u m v a l u e s lower t h a n t h e i n d o o r
a i r l e v e l s . The HCOH l e v e l s i n t h e k i t c h e n cupboards and c l o s e t s were n o t
s i g n i f i c a n t l y above t h e i n d o o r l e v e l s , and were c o n s i d e r e d t o b e secondary
s o u r c e s . The h i g h e r HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n t h e cupboard o v e r t h e
r e f r i g e r a t o r r e s u l t e d from e l e v a t e d t e m p e r a t u r e caused by h e a t l i b e r a t e d from t h e condenser c o i l s of t h e r e f r i g e r a t o r .
I n i t i a l p o i n t sampling by t h e p u b l i c h e a l t h i n s p e c t o r s (Saskatoon
Community H e a l t h U n i t ) i n d i c a t e d a formaldehyde l e v e l of 0.8 ppm. I n t h e
i n d u s t r i a l hygiene s u r v e y , t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n was d e t e r m i n e d i n two iropingers
s e p a r a t e l y t o o b t a i n t h e s l i p p a g e . The mass of formaldehyde c o l l e c t e d i n
t h e two impingers w a s c o r r e c t e d by t h e sampling e f f i c i e n c y of 0.95 t o o b t a i n
a t r u e mean c o n c e n t r a t i o n of formaldehyde d u r i n g t h e sampling p e r i o d ( 1 h
e a c h i n l a t e a f t e r n o o n b e f o r e cooking and i n t h e e v e n i n g ) . The s l i p p a g e
v a l u e s of t h e impingers were: 13.5% f o r t h e l i v i n g room sample, and 18.6%
f o r t h e bedroom sample.
The daytime c o n c e n t r a t i o n of formaldehyde i n t h e l i v i n g room was
0.67 ppm; t h e n i g h t time v a l u e i n t h e bedroom was 0.68 ppm. Both v a l u e s f a r
exceed t h e f e d e r a l r e g u l a t o r y l i m i t of 0.1 ppm. A p r e v i o u s s t u d y (12)
showed t h a t among 16 c a s e s w i t h
UFFI
i n s u l a t i o n and h e a l t h c o m p l a i n t s o n l yone c a s e r e a c h e d a maximum of 0.85 ppm, o r a mean of 0.455 ppm. The v a l u e s
o b t a i n e d i n s i d e t h e mobile home, t h e r e f o r e , a r e comparable t o t h o s e f o r
homes w i t h UFFI i n s u l a t i o n . The formaldehyde c o n c e n t r a t i o n w a s a s h i g h
d u r i n g t h e day a s a t n i g h t , and w a s uniform t h r o u g h o u t t h e rooms t e s t e d .
A second daytime measurement was performed w i t h t h e house
p r e - c o n d i t i o n e d by o p e r a t i n g t h e f u r n a c e f a n c o n t i n u o u s l y f o r t h e p r e v i o u s
24 h. The l i v i n g room HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n was 0.41 pprn a t a v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e
of 0.35 a i r changes p e r hour (ACH). The v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e was determined by
N20 t r a c e r g a s decay t e s t .
During t h e h e a l t h a s s e s s m e n t , t h e c o u p l e b o t h d i s p l a y e d symptoms
s i m i l a r t o t h o s e of o t h e r formaldehyde-exposed i n d i v i d u a l s . There was no
o t h e r e v i d e n c e , from h i s t o r y and p h y s i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n , t o e x p l a i n t h e i r symptom complexes f o r any a i l m e n t o t h e r t h a n t h e determined e n v i r o n m e n t a l exposure.
3.0 DISCUSSION
The o c c u p a n t s ' e x p o s u r e t o a i r b o r n e formaldehyde c a n be c o n t r o l l e d , i n p r i n c i p l e , by s u b s t i t u t i o n of m a t e r i a l s , i s o l a t i o n , and v e n t i l a t i o n . A s t h e b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s were i d e n t i f i e d as t h e major s o u r c e of formaldehyde
e m i s s i o n , t h e y might be removed and m a t e r i a l s s u b s t i t u t e d t h a t e m i t
s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s o r no formaldehyde. The major HCOH s o u r c e i s t h e w a l l p a n e l l i n g , however, and s u b s t i t u t i o n would i n v o l v e r e b u i l d i n g t h e e n t i r e i n t e r i o r of t h e t r a i l e r .
The second o p t i o n i s i m p r a c t i c a l a l s o . The o c c u p a n t s might b e
p r o t e c t e d from i n h a l i n g t h e formaldehyde by s e a l i n g t h e e m i s s i o n s o u r c e s , b u t a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e t h e r e i s no r e l i a b l e t e c h n i q u e f o r d o i n g t h i s .
The t h i r d o p t i o n i s t o i n c r e a s e t h e v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e t o r e d u c e t h e a i r b o r n e c o n c e n t r a t i o n of formaldehyde. For a c o n s t a n t p o l l u t a n t s u p p l y r a t e t o a s p a c e (assuming t h e removal r a t e i s due t o d i l u t i o n a l o n e and t h e r e i s no t r a n s i e n t s t o r a g e l r e l e a s e e f f e c t ) , t h e i n d o o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a n be modelled (13) by: where C = i n d o o r a i r HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n = o u t d o o r a i r HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n (assumed t o be n e g l i g i b l e ) N = p o l l u t a n t s u p p l y r a t e i n the, s p a c e
v
= v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e . I f t h i s model i s a p p l i e d t o t h e i n i t i a l c o n d i t i o n s of 0.41 ppm a t 0.35 a c h , t h e n a v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e of -1.5 a c h (360 m3/h) would be r e q u i r e d t o r e d u c e t h e HCOH c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o 0.1 ppm (14). This s o l u t i o n would impose a l a r g e h e a t i n g / c o o l i n g energy p e n a l t y on t h e o c c u p a n t s and would r e q u i r e s u b s t a n t i a l m o d i f i c a t i o n s t o t h e h e a t i n g and v e n t i l a t i n g system.L i t e r a t u r e a d d r e s s i n g t h e problem ( 1 5 ) s u g g e s t s t h a t formaldehyde
r e l e a s e from b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s h a s a h a l f l i f e of between 30 and 60 months; f o r a c o n s t a n t v e n t i l a t i o n r a t e , i t would t h e r e f o r e t a k e a minimum of
30 months f o r t h e i n d o o r HCOH l e v e l t o d r o p t o one h a l f t h e p r e s e n t l e v e l . I n c r e a s i n g t h e t e m p e r a t u r e a n d / o r h u m i d i t y c o u l d r e d u c e t h e h a l f l i f e , b u t t i m e s i n t h e o r d e r of y e a r s could s t i l l be r e q u i r e d t o d e p l e t e t h e HCOH s o u r c e s . I n t h i s s i t u a t i o n , simply w a i t i n g f o r t h e problem t o d i s a p p e a r does n o t seem t o be a d v i s a b l e .
4.0 CONCLUSION
1. The formaldehyde l e v e l s i n t h e mobile home were c o n s i s t e n t l y h i g h (>0.6 ppm) and u n i f o r m l y d i s t r i b u t e d .
2. The major i d e n t i f i e d e m i s s i o n s o u r c e was t h e p a r t i c l e board p a n e l l i n g u s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e t r a i l e r .
3. The o c c u p a n t s e x p e r i e n c e d symptoms t h a t c o u l d be a t t r i b u t e d t o formaldehyde exposure.
4. C o n v e n t i o n a l methods of c o n t r o l l i n g t h e p o l l u t a n t i n t h e t r a i l e r would i n v o l v e e x t e n s i v e m o d i f i c a t i o n s and a r e t h e r e f o r e u n s a t i s f a c t o r y .
The s u b j e c t s have s i n c e moved i n t o a n o r d i n a r y home w i t h low i n d o o r formaldehyde l e v e l s and t h e 'symptoms c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of formaldehyde s e n s i t i v i t y h a v e s u b s i d e d .
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L
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S a f e t y News, U n i v e r s i t y of Washington, Pullman, p. 26, 1978.
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A t l a n t a , 1981.
I 15. Indoor P o l l u t a n t s . Committee on Indoor P o l l u t a n t s , N a t i o n a l Research
TABLE 1. M a t e r i a l ~ e s t R e s u l t s
( I n s i d e a i r temperature 23OC, r e l a t i v e humidity 35%)
HCOH Conc
b c a t i o n ( P W )
Box A , t o p of l i v i n g room c a r p e t 0.45
Box B,
U/S
of k i t c h e n cupboard s h e l f ( u n f i n i s h e d ) 0.75Box C , back of w a l l p a n e l above f u r n a c e 0.85
Box D, i n s i d e s u r f a c e of w a l l panel w i t h 300 mm x 5 mm c r a c k 2.0 Box E, i n s i d e s u r f a c e of w a l l p a n e l 1.7 Box F, t o p of bedroom c a r p e t 0.35 I n s i d e of k i t c h e n cupboards over r e f r i g e r a t o r 1.15 I n s i d e of water h e a t e r c l o s e t 0.65 I n s i d e of i n t e r i o r w a l l c a v i t y (bedroom) 3.25 I n s i d e of e x t e r i o r w a l l c a v i t y 0.5
T h i s paper i s being d i s t r i b u t e d i n r e p r i n t form by t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r Research i n C o n s t r u c t i o n . A l i s t of b u i l d i n g p r a c t i c e and r e s e a r c h p u b l i c a t i o n s a v a i l a b l e from t h e I n s t i t u t e may be o b t a i n e d by w r i t i n g t o t h e P u b l i c a t i o n s S e c t i o n , I n s t i t u t e f o r R e s e a r c h i n C o n s t r u c t i o n , N a t i o n a l Research C o u n c i l of C a n a d a , O t ' t a w a , O n t a r i o , K l A 0R6. Ce document e s t d i s t r i b u 6 s o u s forme de t i r 6 - 8 - p a r t p a r 1 ' I n s t i t u t de r e c h e r c h e en c o n s t r u c t i o n . On p e u t o b t e n i r une l i s t e d e s p u b l i c a t i o n s de 1' I n s t i t u t p o r t a n t s u r les t e c h n i q u e s ou
