Indoor Air Quality – The science and regulations behind the headlines

The release of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) from products and materials is increasingly subject to regulation in many countries. This, along with rising consumer awareness of the health risks of exposure to chemical emissions indoors, is driving demand for improved assessment and labelling of products.

Manufacturers (and their suppliers) of products including flooring, furniture, paint, wood-based products, insulation materials, coatings, adhesives and sealants, toys, domestic goods, and cleaning products are all impacted by these regulations.

This webinar addresses the wide range of regulatory and market pressures placed on manufacturers to limit the chemical emissions from products and materials. It will describe the use of thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD–GC–MS) to characterise the chemicals that affect indoor air quality, and will highlight the importance of robust sample preparation, sampling and analytical procedures.

A number of case studies will be presented that show the implementation of analytical techniques for compliance with standard methods, and subsequent conformity of regulations, as well as the use of this data for formulation of lower-emitting products and general quality control applications.

Who should attend?

• Analytical chemists, working in government, industry, and academia
• Professionals from materials industry, indoor air quality, automotive, consumer products and environmental laboratories.

Presenter: Caroline Widdowson (Material Emission Specialist, Markes International)

Caroline is a specialist in the sampling and analysis of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in solids, liquids, and gases. She holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and a MBA, Caroline is currently the Head of Market Development at Markes International, an advanced analytical instrument manufacturer with expertise in industrial & environmental monitoring, defence & forensics, chemical emissions from products and materials and chemical ecology. Caroline is current Chair of the UK’s national standardisation body (BSi) committee on Indoor Air Quality.

Presenter: Thomas Neuhaus (Head of Indoor Air Comfort Gold Certification - Eurofins Product Testing)

Thomas Neuhaus studied environmental engineering and is a specialist for product emission testing. He is working for Eurofins Product Testing Denmark A/S with VOC emission testing since 2005. He is active in various standardisation working groups defining VOC product emission testing methodologies and consults organisations, that require VOC emission testing in their labelling schemes and specifications.