Indoor air quality of 5,000 households and its determinants. Part B: Volatile organic compounds and inorganic gaseous pollutants in the Japan Environment and Children's study

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major indoor air pollutants. Quantification of indoor concentrations of VOCs and identification of factors associated with these concentrations can help manage indoor air quality. This study measured the concentrations of VOCs and inorganic gaseous pollutants in around 5000 households in Japan and utilised a random forest model to estimate these concentrations and identify important determinants. The homes of 5017 randomly selected participants in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) were visited twice, when the children were aged 1.5 and 3 years. Twelve VOCs and inorganic gaseous pollutants were measured during 7 days by passive samplers. Various factors in these households, including household appliances, building characteristics, cooking styles, use of consumer products, renovation, pets, personal behaviours and ventilation were recorded. A random forest model with recursive feature elimination was utilised to identify factors predictive of VOCs and inorganic gaseous pollutants. Toluene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the dominant indoor VOCs. The 95th percentiles of indoor p-dichlorobenzene concentrations at 1.5 and 3 years were 67 μg/m³ and 71 μg/m³, respectively. Random forest models with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.34 to 0.76 outperformed the traditional linear regression models. Factors associated with indoor VOC and inorganic gaseous pollutant concentrations included their outdoor concentrations, indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity, month of the year, hours windows were open, kerosene heater use and times of operation and building age. The results provided basic descriptions of indoor VOCs and inorganic gaseous pollutants in Japan and identified several determinants of these concentrations. These determinants should be considered to maintain indoor air quality. These results can be used in epidemiological assessments of the effects of VOCs and inorganic gaseous pollutants on health in children.

Keywords: Dwelling characteristics; Indoor air; Inorganic gaseous pollutants; Random forest; Volatile organic compounds.