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Mercury Emissions from Polyurethane Flooring in Gymnasiums

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dc.contributor.authorJones, Steven LaVoeen
dc.contributor.committeechairLittle, John C.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGrizzard, Thomas J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGodrej, Adil N.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:36:29Zen
dc.date.adate2010-06-15en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:36:29Zen
dc.date.issued2010-05-05en
dc.date.rdate2010-06-15en
dc.date.sdate2010-05-19en
dc.description.abstractFrom the 1960s to the 1980s, many schools throughout the country installed synthetic flooring in indoor gymnasiums that contained mercury which was used as a catalyst in the polyurethane formulation. Many of these floors now have been found to be releasing mercury vapors into the school gymnasiums, leading to a concern that these mercury concentrations might be elevated enough to cause harmful effects. This paper examines data that have been collected from 57 different school gymnasiums using portable devices, such as the Lumex RA-915+ Portable Mercury Vapor Analyzer, and aggregated for analyses, then compares this data to that obtained in chamber tests performed on samples obtained directly from a gymnasium with mercury-containing floors. The overall objective of this paper is to determine if the chamber tests can adequately emulate mercury emissions in school gymnasiums, and using the results of the laboratory experiments, successfully analyze the emissions curve to determine what factors drive the profile. The laboratory testing was successful in emulating the condition of a school gymnasium, as data collected from the laboratory setting was comparable to the measured field data. The average mercury concentration in the gymnasium yielded an emission rate 3.1E-05 ug/m2s, while the calculated laboratory emission rate was 3.2E-05 ug/m2s, a negligible difference. The overall objective was met, as it was determined that floor samples taken from a gymnasium could be measured in the laboratory with similar results to those screened in the actual gym with handheld devices. Additionally, using the data collected in the chamber experiments, the emissions profile was characterized.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05192010-114641en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05192010-114641/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/42755en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartJones_SL_T_2010.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectgymnasiumsen
dc.subjectpolyurethaneen
dc.subjectemissionsen
dc.subjectmercuryen
dc.titleMercury Emissions from Polyurethane Flooring in Gymnasiumsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineEnvironmental Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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