Physiological responses during exposure to carbon dioxide and bioeffluents at levels typically occurring indoors

Twenty-five subjects were exposed to different levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) and bioeffluents. The ventilation rate was set high enough to create a reference condition of 500 ppm CO₂ with subjects present; additional CO₂ was then added to supply air to reach levels of 1000 or 3000 ppm, or the ventilation rate was reduced to allow metabolically generated CO₂ to reach the same two levels (bioeffluents increased as well). Heart rate, blood pressure, end-tidal CO₂ (ETCO₂ ), oxygen saturation of blood (SPO₂ ), respiration rate, nasal peak flow, and forced expiration were monitored, and the levels of salivary α-amylase and cortisol were analyzed. The subjects performed a number of mental tasks during exposures and assessed their levels of comfort and the intensity of their acute health symptoms. During exposure to CO₂ at 3000 ppm, when CO₂ was added or ventilation was restricted, ETCO₂ increased more and heart rate decreased less than the changes that occurred in the reference condition. Exposure to bioeffluents, when metabolically generated CO₂ was at 3000 ppm, significantly increased diastolic blood pressure and salivary α-amylase level compared with pre-exposure levels, and reduced the performance of a cue-utilization test: These effects may suggest higher arousal/stress. A model is proposed describing how mental performance is affected by exposure to bioeffluents.