Journal article
Exhaust ventilation in attached garages improves residential indoor air quality
G Mallach, M St-Jean, M MacNeill, D Aubin, L Wallace, T Shin, K Van Ryswyk, R Kulka, H You, D Fugler, E Lavigne, AJ Wheeler
INDOOR AIR | WILEY | Published : 2017
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12321
Abstract
Previous research has shown that indoor benzene levels in homes with attached garages are higher than homes without attached garages. Exhaust ventilation in attached garages is one possible intervention to reduce these concentrations. To evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention, a randomized crossover study was conducted in 33 Ottawa homes in winter 2014. VOCs including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and air exchange rates were measured over four 48-hour periods when a garage exhaust fan was turned on or off. A blower door test conducted in each garage was used to determine the required exhaust fan flow rate to provide a depressurizatio..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Health Canada, and the National Research Council Canada. The authors gratefully acknowledge participating homeowners, Patrick Goegan for scheduling the home visits, field technicians (Megan Ostronic, Neda Amralah, Stephanie So, Ron Garson), Health Canada staff (Guillaume Colas, Markey Johnson, Francis Lavoie, Jeff Willey, Joyce Zhang), laboratories performing the analyses (Brookhaven National Labs, Dalhousie University and Environment Canada) and Cheryl Khoury and Nina Dobbin for reviewing the manuscript.