Breathe Easy: Real-time Monitoring of Formaldehyde Concentrations in the Built Environment

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a collection of non-specific symptoms reported by building occupants when indoor air is compromised through a number of possible factors. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are often a major concern in SBS investigations and formaldehyde (HCHO), in particular, is the subject of considerable environmental health and monitoring research. New regulatory standards are focused on reducing formaldehyde levels in both residential settings and building materials manufacturing. In order to develop new tools to meet lower national thresholds, NSF IGERT Sensor Science, Engineering and Informatics (SSEI) research is focused on the design, implementation and testing of a wireless formaldehyde monitoring system. This poster presents the technologies and methods used to develop a real-time system capable of detecting formaldehyde at new industry standard thresholds with an interactive web-based user interface.