Session

Civil Engineering, Infrastructure and Environment

Description

Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving in-creasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Products used during con-struction and operation of a building can contribute to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems that affect occupants’ well-being. However, IAQ is conventionally not addressed in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of buildings and building re-lated products even though IAQ leads to one of the areas of protection under LCA - human health impacts. In this study, we proposed an overall framework for integrating IAQ into LCA using the standard steps of LCA. The framework focused on IAQ and LCA modeling from two categories of building related products: i) passive products that realize their function through initial installa-tion and have long-term decayed emissions, and ii) active equipment that real-ize their function and cause emissions through daily operation. Dynamic and static life cycle inventory modeling approaches were proposed for passive products and active equipment, respectively. This study demonstrates the ap-propriateness and significance of integrating indoor environments into LCA, which ensures a more holistic account of all exposure environments and allows for a better accountability of health impacts

Keywords:

Indoor air quality, life cycle assessment of buildings and building.

Proceedings Editor

Edmond Hajrizi

ISBN

978-9951-550-95-6

Location

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

Start Date

28-10-2023 8:00 AM

End Date

29-10-2023 6:00 PM

DOI

10.33107/ubt-ic.2023.382

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Oct 28th, 8:00 AM Oct 29th, 6:00 PM

Indoor air quality impacts into life cycle assessments of buildings and building

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving in-creasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Products used during con-struction and operation of a building can contribute to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems that affect occupants’ well-being. However, IAQ is conventionally not addressed in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of buildings and building re-lated products even though IAQ leads to one of the areas of protection under LCA - human health impacts. In this study, we proposed an overall framework for integrating IAQ into LCA using the standard steps of LCA. The framework focused on IAQ and LCA modeling from two categories of building related products: i) passive products that realize their function through initial installa-tion and have long-term decayed emissions, and ii) active equipment that real-ize their function and cause emissions through daily operation. Dynamic and static life cycle inventory modeling approaches were proposed for passive products and active equipment, respectively. This study demonstrates the ap-propriateness and significance of integrating indoor environments into LCA, which ensures a more holistic account of all exposure environments and allows for a better accountability of health impacts