A Literature Survey of Research Trends of Volatile Organic Compounds and Field Indoor Air Quality in Korea

Recently research on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been conducted and published in journals of research societies such as Architectural Institute of Korea, Society of Air conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers of Korea, Korea Institute of Ecological Architecture and Korean Society of Living Environment System since the late 1900's in Korea. This study reviews all articles on VOCs research in these four journals to produce a bibliography and determine the research trends. All articles are classified into three different topics as follows; 1) Laboratory research on building materials and field research on the concentration of pollutants, 2) Kinetic properties of pollutants and strategies for their control, and 3) Hazardous effects of IAQ on occupants. It was found that much research on VOCs has been conducted since 2005, especially in the above topics 1) and 2). Research about topic 3) has not been carried out as much as about topics 1) and 2), because it has only been begun very recently.