Design Requirements for Sensing and Detoxification Devices to be Used in Large Public Spaces. Literature Review on Typical Pollutants and Their Concentrations

Abstract

This work is a part of the NANOSECURE integrated project, supported by the European Commission under Framework Programme 6, with the objective to use nanotechnology in developing sensing and detoxification devices. Besides being sensitive, flexible, compact and inexpensive, it is important that the sensors do not respond to normal indoor air pollutants in their typical concentrations, as false-positive signals can have serious consequences. The purpose of this paper is to list typical indoor air pollutants and indicate ranges of concentrations in which they normally occur. Among others, these results may draw designers’ and manufacturers’ attention to the importance of chemical selectivity, sufficient capacity and robustness to withstand normal exposures in buildings. The main focus is on assembly buildings, airport terminals, and train and metro stations, as spaces in these buildings can be especially endangered by attacks using chemical or biological agents due to their size and population density. The literature review shows lack of information on concentrations of chemical and biological pollutants in these buildings. It also points out a need for calibration and testing in both laboratory environments with clean and well-defined air quality and in atmospheres with typical and often complex compositions.