Browsing by Author "Schaeffer, Joshua, advisor"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Characterizing mold VOCs in residential structures impacted by flood(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Murphy, Molly, author; Schaeffer, Joshua, advisor; Magzamen, Sheryl, committee member; Carter, Ellison, committee memberMold growth is a health concern for people re-entering their homes after a flooding event. Mold exposure can be hazardous, especially for people with asthma. Mold produces volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as it grows, and those VOCs can be used to detect the presence of mold. While VOC profiles of mold have been constructed in laboratory settings, there has been little work with samples directly from the field. VOC samples were taken from the homes of 55 Houston residents. 33 homes had been flooded, and 22 had not. The VOCs were analyzed using GCMS and identified using a NIST library of mass spectra. The VOCs found in flooded homes were compared to VOCs found in unflooded homes. There was a difference in VOCs identified, and the concentration of those VOCs, in flooded versus non-flooded homes, and some of those VOCs have been previously associated with mold growth. However, the origin of those VOCs is still not clear. Further work should include associating the VOCs found with the maximum water levels in the flooded homes, and with health data collected from the participants.Item Open Access Comparison of indoor air quality between building type in campus buildings(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Erlandson, Grant, author; Schaeffer, Joshua, advisor; Carter, Ellison, committee member; Magzamen, Sheryl, committee member; Reynolds, Stephen, committee memberThe average American spends an estimated 90% of their time indoors on any given day. Rapid urbanization is also sweeping the country leading to ever increasing time spent in the built environment. Human exposure to the surrounding environment accounts for 90% of all disease. The air we breathe represents a major component of that exposure and becomes increasingly relevant as more time is spent indoors. Many studies have set out to characterize and improve indoor air quality in various settings from the workplace to schools. However, few have investigated higher education and its shift toward green, sustainable buildings. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of building type and occupancy on indoor air quality in higher education buildings. We measured LEED certified, retrofitted, and conventional building types on a college campus for particulate matter, formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. For each building type, we conducted multi-zonal, 48 hour measurements during times when the buildings were occupied and unoccupied. Statistically significant differences in two size fractions of particulate matter were observed between building types. Carbon dioxide and particulate matter concentrations were significantly higher during occupied sampling when compared to unoccupied. Results from this study suggest that occupancy status has a larger impact on indoor air quality in campus buildings than building type.