Every building era has its typical pollutants. Anyone who knows when a building was erected can estimate quite well what might be inside it, and have it checked in a targeted way instead of analysing everything on suspicion. One exception is radon: it depends on the geology of the subsurface, not on the construction year, and must therefore be considered in every era. The rest follows time. The year boundaries are rough guides; the eras blend at the transitions, and long-used materials such as old mineral wool or wood preservatives span several decades. Here is the overview, from the Gründerzeit to the new build.
Before 1945: Gründerzeit, Art Nouveau, interwar period
- Lead: lead white, red lead and lead chromate in paints on windows, doors, radiators and window sills, often in several layers on top of one another; in the oldest Gründerzeit houses, drinking-water pipes made of lead as well. (→ Lead in old buildings)
- Tar products (PAH): tar-containing seals in basements and on foundations. (→ PAH in old buildings)
- Wood preservatives: some earlier-generation products, especially with visible half-timbering. (→ Wood preservatives)
Typical: high lead levels, many paint layers. Asbestos still rare, but not excluded in later conversions.
1945 to 1960: reconstruction
- Asbestos: appears as a building material, for example as Eternit sheets on the roof and the first pipe lagging. (→ Recognising asbestos)
- PAH adhesive: black, tar-like parquet adhesive, typical of these years. (→ PAH in old buildings)
- Lead pipes: still installed as drinking-water pipes. (→ Lead in old buildings)
Typical: simple, fast construction, asbestos roof, but still less pollutant variety than afterwards.
1960 to 1980: the peak phase
In this era pollutants stack up. In a building of the early 1970s, several at once are not uncommon.
- Asbestos: used in many forms, on roof (Eternit) and facade, in floor coverings, pipe insulation and night-storage heaters. (→ Recognising asbestos)
- PAH: black parquet adhesive, roofing felt, seals. (→ PAH in old buildings)
- PCB: flexible joint sealants in concrete and panel buildings. (→ PCB in sealants)
- Lead: last generation of lead pipes, installed into the early 1970s. (→ Lead in old buildings)
- Wood preservatives: PCP and lindane in roof structures, coated over the surface or dipped. (→ Wood preservatives)
- MMF: older, biopersistent mineral wool in roof and facade insulation. (→ MMF)
Typical: several pollutants at once. Anyone renovating here should establish systematically beforehand what is present.
1980 to 1995: transition
The bans take hold step by step. The Asbestos Ordinance 1990 phases out the placing on the market and supply of asbestos products in Austria; asbestos-cement building products for building construction may be placed on the market until 31 December 1993 at the latest. The manufacture, placing on the market and use of PCB have been banned since 1993 (BGBl. No. 210/1993).
- Asbestos: late products, rarer but present, especially in roof sheets, facades and pipes. (→ Recognising asbestos)
- MMF: old, biopersistent mineral wool until about 2000, after which it was replaced by biosoluble fibres. (→ MMF)
- Wood preservatives: last PCP and lindane applications before the PCP ban in 1991 and the end of lindane approval in the early 1990s. (→ Wood preservatives)
Typical: often only one or two pollutants; mineral wool from this period, however, is usually still the old, biopersistent kind.
After 1995: new build
The classic old-building pollutants have largely disappeared. Instead, other themes appear.
- VOC and formaldehyde: volatile compounds from paints, adhesives, floor coverings and furniture, especially in the first weeks and months after renovation or moving in. (→ VOC after renovation)
- Radon: relevant in new builds too, depending on the subsurface. In designated radon precaution areas, radon precaution measures are required for new buildings, but they only work if properly carried out. (→ Radon in Austria)
- MMF (transition years): in buildings up to about 2000, old biopersistent mineral wool may still be installed; only after that is the insulation consistently biosoluble. (→ MMF)
Typical: fewer legacies, but VOC themes with unfavourable material choice or poor ventilation.
What this means in practice
The construction year is not a finding, but it shows what is worth looking for. Certainty comes only from examining the actual material, because whether an Eternit roof contains asbestos or a parquet adhesive contains PAH can only be guessed from the age, not proven. Older buildings tend to hold more potential pollutants, most of all those built between 1960 and 1980; for them, though, the risks are also better researched. Only radon, as noted at the outset, follows the geology rather than the construction year, and so remains a consideration in every building, old or new. Before a renovation or a purchase it is therefore worth taking a targeted look at the likely pollutants of the respective construction era, before anything is opened up.
Sources
- The substance- and era-specific details are documented in the linked individual guides (asbestos, PAH, PCB, lead, MMF, wood preservatives, VOC, radon).
- Key dates: Asbestos Ordinance 1990 (BGBl. No. 324/1990, since repealed; the ban is today anchored in the REACH Regulation), placing asbestos cement for building construction on the market banned from 1 January 1994; PCP banned in Austria since 1991 (BGBl. No. 58/1991); PCB banned since 1993 (BGBl. No. 210/1993).
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