1. July 2012 1 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing

2. July 2012 2 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing Test chambers Photo: Eurofins Product Testing A/S

3. July 2012 3 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing What you get from chamber testing is: Test chamber air concentration at given time mg/m³, then we calculate from that: Emission rate per hour, mg/h Specific emission rate (emission factor), per area mg/m²h or per mass, per device, per unit Contribution to air concentration, mg/m³ (source strength) in reference room or in real room after a specified time Compare with limit values (always given as air concentration) Significance of test result

4. July 2012 4 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing Reference room - not a test room, but just a model Needed for comparing test result with air concentration limit values European Reference Room (CEN TC 351): Floor area 12 m², Height 2.5 m, Volume 30 m³ 1 window, 1 door Then calculate loading factors (m²/m³) for walls etc., ½ air change per hour Area specific air flow rate (m³/m²h) = ach / loading factor 23 °C, 50% relative humidity As most products can be used in various exposure scenarios, this room is used as general reference for all situations Testing shall simulate those rooms in small scale Test chambers made of stainless steel or glass, 50 litres to several m³ European Reference Room

5. July 2012 5 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing US: Open-plan or private office, class room, residential Different in surface, room height, furniture, equipment, ventilation Why different exposure scenarios can make sense: Some products are manufactured only to e.g. offices, schools, etc. and then are rated against specific conditions Ambition is to predict air concentrations in such rooms Why different exposure scenarios cannot make sense: Almost all products are used in all scenarios A product may pass one, but fail another scenario (How) Will product marketing distinguish? We need an unambiguous scale for rating products Select one small room as worst-case scenario Do not exaggerate precision in exposure scenarios; e.g. round 1.89 m² to 2 m² (door in CA); 31.4 m² to 30 m² (walls in EU) Emissions can vary over time ± 30-50%; testing uncertainty ± 30-50% Different Exposure Scenarios

6. July 2012 6 www.eurofins.com/voc-testing All programs evaluate in-use phase emissions Evaluation mostly after 28 days in Europe, after 14 days in USA Limits after 3 days cover renovation / refurbishing Testing in ventilated test chambers; no correlation with VOC content VOC long-term emissions – schedule Example of a decay curve Lifetime Emissions All emissions during lifetime = VOC content