Vulnerable populations in healthcare facilities are more sensitive to exposure to indoor air pollutants, and therefore are more affected by such pollutants than the general population. This was the underlying reason why studies of indoor air pollutant concentration distribution and health risk assessment have been conducted targeting facilities, such as daycare centers, medical facilities, elderly care facilities, and postnatal care centers. However, previous studies have mainly focused on daycare and medical facilities for their research, and relatively speaking, studies conducted on the other venues are lacking. Therefore, this study aims to present the current status of indoor air quality and perform a health risk assessment in regard to Formaldehyde exposure at postnatal care centers and elderly care facilities. Here, the study focused on facilities that had undergone pollution level inspections from January 2017 to December 2021. A total of 81 postnatal care centers and 48 elderly care facilities were selected as the subject of the study. Then, the study utilized concentrations of five elements (CO2, HCHO, PM10, PM2.5, TBC) to determine the status of indoor air quality of both postnatal care centers and elderly care facilities. For health risk assessment, HCHO concentration was used. The investigation demonstrated that the yearly average concentration of the five elements stood within the indoor air quality maintenance standards, and the ratio of PM2.5 to PM10 in the two types of facilities was distributed as high as about 70%. In addition, the study showed that HCHO and TBC demonstrated a positive correlation when the relationship between indoor temperature and humidity with the five elements was examined. The health risk assessment showed that the cancer risk level of postnatal care center users stood below 10-6, below the level that is perceived as an acceptable risk. The cancer risk of workers from both postnatal care centers and elderly care facilities and elderly care facility users exceeded the acceptable risk level of 10-6, but was shown to be below 10-4, the maximum acceptable risk.

Recently, there has been growing interest in harmful substances released from household items such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and this has increased people’s environmental awareness. In this study, adhesives and manicures were used as samples of indoor household goods and formaldehyde emission and tested over time under temperature conditions of 15oC, 25oC, 35oC, and 45oC. The small chamber method as the indoor air quality process test method was employed and used to evaluate the concentration of formaldehyde emissions. As a result, formaldehyde emissions gradually decreased over time in both tests using adhesives and manicures. The cumulative emission showed a logarithmic function over time, and the formaldehyde can be released for longer periods of time at lower temperature conditions. The logarithmic value and response time showed linear relationships, and it can be inferred that the formaldehyde was released from the sample through the first order reaction. Furthermore, the relationship between temperature and velocity constants which was determined using the Arenius linear equation showed that the reaction rate of formaldehyde can be estimated by a temperature change.

In order to protect the health of students and to prevent environmental harm, the School Health Law has been enacted and enforced. In the current “School Health Law Enforcement Rule”, school facilities, such as student desks and chairs, are required to use a small amount of formaldehyde emission values. In this study, an analysis was conducted with the purpose of using the basic data for the adjustment of the present emission standard. The formaldehyde exposure trend in the classroom was evaluated by examining the newly purchased student desks and chairs. As a result of measuring the compound levels in ten schools, the new student desks and chairs seemed to have contributed little to indoor formaldehyde levels. Only one classroom out of ten schools exceeded the threshold of 100 μg/m³ in Class 2 (without new desks and chairs) [(2)103.7 μg/m³]. A measurement of the classrooms exposed to formaldehyde for more than 10 years did not exceed the standard value. It is also very likely to be a source of contamination due to the recent construction (within 6 months) of indoor building materials, which was the dominant feature of the nine new schools. Although the study comprised a limited measurement, the appraisal results are suitable for HCHO emission.

According to a recent government study, development and distribution of functional building materials are increasing in Korea.
In this study, we evaluated reduction performance of formaldehyde and toluene by sorptive building materials using small-scale chamber(20L) test method for 7 days.
According to the results of this study, 18 building materials showed that the effects of formaldehyde reduction among the 23 building materials. And the number of the building materials with respect to its ability to reduce the concentration of toluene was relatively small.
The mean sorption rate and total amount of sorption for formaldehyde were 36.8% and 1,525.4㎍/㎡, respectively. The sorption rate and total amount of sorption for formaldehyde were in the range 1.5∼78.4% and 87.5∼3,086.0㎍/㎡, respectively.
And the mean sorption rate and total amount of sorption for toluene were 11.6% and 1,054.4㎍/㎡, respectively. The sorption rate and total amount of sorption of toluene were in the range 0.1∼62.4% and 29.6∼6,764.0㎍/㎡, respectively.
In most cases, the performance of the building materials with respect to its ability to reduce the concentration of pollutants has steadily decreased within 7 days.

This study was to assess the lifetime cancer and non-cancer risk on exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde of worker and user at public facilities in Korea. We measured the concentrations of formaldehyde and VOCs in indoor air at 160 public buildings that 5 kinds of public facilities (30 hotel, 30 fitness center, 25 gosiwon, 30 reading-room and 45 video-room) all over the country. There were estimated the human exposure dose and risks with averages of the using-time and frequency for facility users and office workers, respectively. Carcinogens (benzene and formaldehyde) were estimated the lifetime excess cancer risks (ECRs). Non-carcinogens (toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene) were estimated the hazard quotients (HQs). HQs of four non-carcinogens did not exceed 1.0 for all subjects in all facilities. Higher HQs of toluene were observed at the reading-room. The average ECRs of formaldehyde and benzene for facility worker and user were 1×10^-4~1×10^-6 level in all facilities. The estimated ECRs for reading-room were the highest and the fitness center and gosiwon were the next higher facilities. Because lifetime ECRs of carcinogens exceeded 1×10^-4 for facility worker in the most facilities, risk management of formaldehyde and benzene in the facilities was necessary. IAQ guidelines should be determined strictly to prevent occurrence of disease caused by poor IAQ beforehand.

This study was performed to analysis the concentration of TVOC, 5VOC and formaldehyde for building material of total 262 using 20L test chamber. The concentration of TVOC, 5VOC and formaldehyde were measured 1.001㎎/㎡･h, 43.032㎍/㎡･h, 0.012㎎/㎡･h, respectively. TVOC concentration of paint and floor covering occupied the largest concentration of the indoor building materials as 2.689㎎/㎡･h, 2.120㎎/㎡･h, respectively. 5VOC concentration of floor covering was measured 106.636㎍/㎡･h. Toulene and xylene were occupied the largest part of the 5VOC as 51.2% and 33.1%, respectively. The concentration of formaldehyde for furniture materials occupied the largest concentration of the indoor building material as 0.072㎎/㎡h.

The objective of the current study was to analyze the current safety status of formaldehyde. More than 670 manufacturers in 15 business sectors were enrolled. A MFA of the manufacturers showed that manufacturer M, which specializes in the manufacture of basic organic chemicals, used the most formaldehyde (120,000 tons), and manufacturer B, which specializes in the manufacture of general varnish and related products, used the least (8 tons). The results of this study can be used to collect scattered material flow and identify different parts of the country where a nationally produced substance, such as formaldehyde, can be stored. The details of the toxicity reflected in the composition and the amount of formaldehyde are likely to be utilized to produce personal protective equipment.