Building science approaches for vapor intrusion studies

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Building Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Indoor air concentrations vary in time and space, complicating vapor intrusion assessments.
• Building and weather conditions significantly influence vapor intrusion exposure risks.
• Building science offers extensive data on fate and transport processes relevant to exposure risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing building science research.
• To summarize the utility of building science models for vapor intrusion risk assessment.
• To provide insights for decision-making in exposure assessment.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging building science modeling tools.
• Calculating building air exchange rates (AERs) using building-specific features.
• Integrating building science models with vapor intrusion models.

Main Results:

• Building science models demonstrate temporal and spatial variations in indoor air contaminant concentrations.
• These models can estimate building air exchange rates based on specific building characteristics.
• Combining models provides new insights into indoor air concentrations and ventilation under various conditions.

Conclusions:

• Building science research and models are valuable resources for vapor intrusion scientists.
• Integrating these tools enhances the estimation of indoor air concentrations and ventilation.
• This integration improves the accuracy and decision-making capabilities of vapor intrusion exposure risk assessments.