Effects of exposure to carbon dioxide and bioeffluents on perceived air quality, self-assessed acute health symptoms, and cognitive performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on humans of exposure to carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) and bioeffluents. In three of the five exposures, the outdoor air supply rate was high enough to remove bioeffluents, resulting in a CO₂ level of 500 ppm. Chemically pure CO₂ was added to this reference condition to create exposure conditions with CO₂ at 1000 or 3000 ppm. In two further conditions, the outdoor air supply rate was restricted so that the bioeffluent CO₂ reached 1000 or 3000 ppm. The same 25 subjects were exposed for 255 min to each condition. Subjective ratings, physiological responses, and cognitive performance were measured. No statistically significant effects on perceived air quality, acute health symptoms, or cognitive performance were seen during exposures when CO₂ was added. Exposures to bioeffluents with CO₂ at 3000 ppm reduced perceived air quality; increased the intensity of reported headache, fatigue, sleepiness, and difficulty in thinking clearly; and reduced speed of addition, the response time in a redirection task, and the number of correct links made in the cue-utilization test. This suggests that moderate concentrations of bioeffluents, but not pure CO₂ , will result in deleterious effects on occupants during typical indoor exposures.

Keywords: Acute health symptoms; Carbon dioxide; Cognitive performance; Human bioeffluents; Perceived air quality; Subjective responses.