Building Materials, Health and Indoor Air Quality

As industry and regulation increasingly focus on energy and carbon saving to fulfil our environmental responsibility, this book is a timely reminder that the quality of the buildings we occupy has to be given the same importance as energy performance. In this book Professor Woolley revisits his previous excellent research in toxicity and materials by delivering a book that will be vital in addressing the issues of health and our built environment for practitioners and students alike. Alison Pooley For quite some time issues of the outdoor environment and climate change have overshadowed the issue of indoor air quality. Woolley presents a range of evidence showing that the indoor air quality problem remains highly pertinent, and largely ignored not only by public authorities and the construction industry, but also unfortunately by several health - and environmental organizations. Modern solutions for energy efficient buildings, such as the passive house, potentially amplify this problem through increased focus on impermeability, new insulation materials and balanced ventilation system with heat recovery. But Woolley shows us the way forward. He documents with great experience and thoroughness that there is no contradiction between high energy efficiency and good indoor air quality. Proposed solutions include the use of low-emitting materials, hygroscopic surfaces and natural ventilation. This knowledge is deeply valuable to anyone interested in indoor air quality. Bjorn Berge