Reusing concrete products in indoor environments: chemical hazard assessment
By: Katja Tähtinen, Aku Helin, Evgeny Parshintsev and Hanna Hovi
References
- Act on the Approval of Certain Construction Products 954/2012 (Finland).
https://www.finlex.fi/eli?uri=http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2012/954/ajantasa/2023-04-21/fin - Adams, K. T., Osmani, M., Thorpe, T., & Thornback, J. (2017). Circular economy in construction: current awareness, challenges and enablers. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Waste and Resource Management, 170(1), 15–24. 10.1680/jwarm.16.00011
- Bai, Z., Dong, Y., Wang, Z., & Zhu, T. (2006). Emission of ammonia from indoor concrete wall and assessment of human exposure. Environment International, 32(3), 303–311.
- Building Act 751/2023 (Finland).
https://www.finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/2023/751 - Brown, V. M., Crump, D. R., & Harrison, P. T. (2013). Assessing and controlling risks from the emission of organic chemicals from construction products into indoor environments. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 15(12), 2164–2177.
- Castagnoli, E., Backlund, P., Talvitie, O., Tuomi, T., Valtanen, A., Mikkola, R., Hovi, H., Leino, K., Kurnitski, J., & Salonen, H. (2019). Emissions of DEHP-free PVC flooring. Indoor Air, 29(6), 903–912.
- Chyliński, F., Goljan, A., & Michalik, A. (2021). Fly ash with ammonia: Properties and emission of ammonia from cement composites. Materials, 14(4), 707.
- Decree on Health Conditions of Dwellings and Other Indoor Environments 545/2015 (Finland).
https://www.finlex.fi/eli?uri=http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2015/545/ajantasa/2015-04-23/fin - Decree on the Approval of Certain Construction Products 555/2013 (Finland).
https://www.finlex.fi/eli?uri=http://data.finlex.fi/eli/sd/2013/555/ajantasa/2015-01-30/fin - European Chemicals Agency (2016). Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment – Chapter R.14: Occupational exposure assessment. (ECHA-16-G-09-EN).
- European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, I., Entrepreneurship SMEs (2023). List of ‘Lowest Concentration of Interest’ (LCI) values 2023. Publications Office of the European Union. 10.2873/88989
- FIOH. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (2025). Website (In Finnish):
https://www.ttl.fi/sites/default/files/2023-02/Ty%C3%B6terveyslaitoksen%20viitearvot%20sis%C3%A4ilman%20kemiallisille%20yhdisteille%20ja%20mikrobeille.pdf - Hart, J., Adams, K., Giesekam, J., Tingley, D. D., & Pomponi, F. (2019). Barriers and drivers in a circular economy: the case of the built environment. Procedia CIRP, 80, 619–624.
- Hemmilä, M., Kajander, H., & Koivusaari, R. (2021). M1-päästöluokitusmittauksiin lähetettyjen rakennusmateriaalinäytteiden VOC-emissiot sekä aistinvaraisten arviointien tulokset eri tuoteryhmissä, Sisäilmastoseminaari 2021. s.291–296. SIY Raportti 39/2021. Sisäilmayhdistys ry.
- Hjellström, K. (2004).
Chemical emissions from concrete (Licentiate thesis, Division of Building Materials, LTH, Lund University). - Jang, H., Lee, M., & So, S. (2014). Use of artificial neural network for the prediction of ammonia emission concentration of granulated blast furnace slag mortar. International Journal of Smart Home, 8(2), 123–136.
- Järnström, H., Saarela, K., Kalliokoski, P., & Pasanen, A.-L. (2007). Reference values for structure emissions measured on site in new residential buildings in Finland. Atmospheric Environment, 41(11), 2290–2302.
- Juntunen, M., Salmela, A., Jalkanen, K., Hovi, H., Wallenius, K., & Hyvärinen, A. (2022). Haihtuvat orgaaniset yhdisteet asunnoissa: Pitoisuustasot, yleisimmät yhdisteet ja terveysvaikutukset.
- Knoth, K., Fufa, S. M., & Seilskjær, E. (2022). Barriers, success factors, and perspectives for the reuse of construction products in Norway. Journal of Cleaner Production, 337,
130494 . 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130494 - Leino, K., Hovi, H., & Parshintsev, E. (2020). Kuinka arvioida materiaaliemissioiden vaikutusta sisäilman kemialliseen laatuun. In: Sisäilmastoseminaari.
- Lindgren, T. (2010). A case of indoor air pollution of ammonia emitted from concrete in a newly built office in Beijing. Building and Environment, 45(3), 596–600.
- Pitkäranta, M. (2016). Rakennuksen kosteus-ja sisäilmatekninen kuntotutkimus. Ympäristöministeriö.
- Pomponi, F., & Moncaster, A. (2017). Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 710–718. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.055
- Putus, T., Tuomainen, A., & Rautiala, S. (2004). Chemical and microbial exposures in a school building: adverse health effects in children. Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal, 59(4), 194–201.
- Rakhshan, K., Morel, J.-C., Alaka, H., & Charef, R. (2020). Components reuse in the building sector – A systematic review. Waste Management & Research, 38(4), 347–370. 10.1177/0734242x20910463
- Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (2008).
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/1272/oj/eng - Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) (2006).
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1907/oj/eng - Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants (2019).
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1021/oj/eng - Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 laying down harmonised rules for the marketing of construction products (2024).
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3110/oj/eng - Schripp, T., Nachtwey, B., Toelke, J., Salthammer, T., Uhde, E., Wensing, M., & Bahadir, M. (2007). A microscale device for measuring emissions from materials for indoor use. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 387(5), 1907–1919.
- Shou, L., Hayes, J., Cheng, W., Wu, C.-Y., Townsend, T., Vinson, T., & Schert, J. (2014). Characterization of ammonia gas release from concrete added with ammoniated fly ash. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 7(4), 505–513.
- Sjöberg, A. (2001). Secondary emissions from concrete floors with bonded flooring materials – Effects of alkaline hydrolysis and stored decomposition products. I–188.
- Sjöberg, A., Blondeau, P., & Johansson, P. (2010). Measurement methods for stored VOC in concrete floors. Nordic Concrete Research, 41.
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4113448 - Tuomainen, A., Seuri, M., & Sieppi, A. (2004). Indoor air quality and health problems associated with damp floor coverings. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 77(3), 222–226.
- Uhde, E., & Salthammer, T. (2007). Impact of reaction products from building materials and furnishings on indoor air quality—A review of recent advances in indoor chemistry. Atmospheric Environment, 41(15), 3111–3128. 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.05.082
- Wakayama, T., Ito, Y., Sakai, K., Miyake, M., Shibata, E., Ohno, H., & Kamijima, M. (2019). Comprehensive review of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol as an indoor air pollutant. Journal of Occupational Health, 61(1), 19–35.
- Wallenius, K., Hovi, H., Mahiout, S., Remes, J., Rautiala, S., Jokela, P., Leino, K., & Liukkonen, T. (2021). Haihtuvat orgaaniset yhdisteet toimistotyyppisissä työympäristöissä: Päästölähteet, mittausmenetelmät, pitoisuustasot ja terveysvaikutukset.
- Wallenius, K., Hovi, H., Remes, J., Mahiout, S., & Liukkonen, T. (2022). Volatile organic compounds in Finnish office environments in 2010–2019 and their relevance to adverse health effects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 4411. 10.3390/ijerph19074411
- Wallenius, K., Korkalainen, M., Porras, S., Hovi, H., Holma, S., Ahtinen, S., Koponen, J., Huttunen, K., & Rantakokko, P. (2023). Sisäympäristöissä esiintyvät puolihaihtuvat orgaaniset yhdisteet (SVOC): Väestön altistuminen ja terveysriskit.
- Weschler, C. J., & Carslaw, N. (2018). Indoor chemistry. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(5), 2419–2428.
- Wilke, O., Jann, O., & Brödner, D. (2004). VOC-and SVOC-emissions from adhesives, floor coverings and complete floor structures. Indoor Air, 14.
- Zhu, Y., Lonka, H., Tähtinen, K., Anttonen, M., Isokääntä, P., Knuutila, A., Lahdensivu, J., Mahiout, S., Mäntylä, A.-M., & Raimovaara, M. (2022). Purkumateriaalien kelpoisuus eri käyttökohteisiin turvallisuuden ja terveellisyyden näkökulmasta. Valtioneuvoston selvitys-ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja, 15, 10–114.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.832 | Journal eISSN: 2632-6655
Language: English
Page range: 808 - 823
Submitted on: Apr 10, 2026
Accepted on: Jun 29, 2026
Published on: Aug 7, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Katja Tähtinen, Aku Helin, Evgeny Parshintsev, Hanna Hovi, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.