Towards a new index to qualify indoor air quality and thermal comfort in storage areas

Recent works have highlighted the poorer indoor air quality in storage areas compared to sales areas of stores or office premises, due both to the high quantity of newly manufactured products, having high volatile organic compound (VOC) emission capacities like tires, shoes or furniture, and the absence of mechanical ventilation. These buildings are also rarely heated or cooled, leading to a potential occupant discomfort. Because workers can spend a large amount of time in such environments, receiving and unpacking goods, placing products on shelves or collecting them, the first step for preventing their occupational exposure is to assess the risks associated with their activities. Full-scale measurement campaigns are difficult to achieve at an affordable cost in these environments due to the specific equipment and skills required for measuring different VOC concentrations and ambient air conditions, and the potential variability of the amount and the nature of products stored. This paper proposes an approach for constructing a new index to help preventers assessing indoor air quality and thermal comfort in storage areas.