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Project INTiERIM

European sustainable development strategies have long stressed the need for a reduction in emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also reaffirmed in the recent 7th European Environmental Action Program.

From the awareness that it is desirable and necessary to fill the knowledge gaps in the approaches and methodological tools for the prevention and assessment of indoor environmental pollution and to ensure that these aspects can be effectively integrated into environmental policies that can become or already are key tools for the reduction of VOCs such as ECOLABEL and EMAS Scheme, LCA procedure, REACH, energy efficiency, a study project called INTìERIM “INTegrating ìndoor voc Emission Risk Management” was born in ISPRA in 2014.

The INTìERIM study project combined different scientific skills, in the analysis of methodological criticalities and in the identification of appropriate and feasible activities and procedures, through environmental sustainability policies and their operational tools.

In order to concretely assist the various operational needs, the study was focused, in its early stages, on a specific objective on which to possibly start an applicative pilot project.

In examining the field of study in which the resources would be concentrated, account was taken of both the various levels of dangerousness of the substances generally present in indoor air and the need to define a target of common interest, albeit for different aspects, to all environmental policies considered.

As a specific objective of this first phase of study, what are commonly referred to as "consumer products for cleaning" were therefore chosen, in consideration of the fact:

  • which are among the main sources of emissions of dangerous chemical substances and secondary pollution in indoor environments and with an appropriate review of the ECOLABEL schemes, they can contribute to the reduction of these emissions;
  • they are commonly used in all confined environments (homes, schools, offices, vehicles) and their use is governed, in many contexts, by tenders for cleaning (hence the connection with GPP policies and Minimum Environmental Criteria);
  • the pollutants emitted by these products also include substances considered of priority interest for the REACH regulation and the risks posed by mixtures of these substances in indoor air are still being assessed;
  • the use of these products generates emissions of volatile substances in confined spaces which, through the mechanisms of ventilation and air exchange between indoor and outdoor, contribute to the quotas (11% in 2012) of VOC emissions into the atmosphere (UNFCCC emissions inventory, UNECE / CLRTAP). The reduction of emissions from indoor sources will therefore entail an environmental benefit and, consequently, a benefit related to the possible health risks associated with the presence of VOCs in the atmosphere
  • The danger of exposure to these chemicals in confined spaces is directly dependent on their concentration and therefore on their permanence in the air, which can be mitigated by adequate ventilation and other microclimatic parameters, factors which are related to the structure of the confined environment. in question and which are influenced by current systems for the implementation of energy efficiency in buildings.

It is hoped that the results produced by the INTìERIM project can stimulate the strengthening of the current tools used by environmental policies for the purposes of integrated prevention of the risks associated with exposure to VOCs in indoor air, promote the integration of the indoor component in the procedures and methodologies of some tools for sustainable development such as ECOLABEL and EMAS, REACH, energy efficiency of buildings and prevention of emissions into the atmosphere.

Finally, give impetus to an application pilot project of the results of the ISPRA study (Document in press)

Among the activities of the INTiERIM Project, one of the study areas, in particular "Risk management from exposure to VOCs in indoor air", involved the organization of a training course on environmental, indoor and health policies. Therefore, ISPRA together with the Ministry of Health has agreed to jointly carry out a training course on the subject of health protection and the prevention of risks in indoor air in the school environment through a conscious management of avoidable indoor polluting sources.
The training course on the topic "Indoor air quality, health risks and prevention in schools" is intended for school managers, prevention managers, personnel of the administrative technical units of the Tender and Procurement Offices and operators of health prevention systems and on the territory on the topic of the prevention of indoor air quality in schools.