Alcohols indoors

Acetaldehyde is a natural product of combustion and photo-oxidation of hydrocarbons commonly found in the atmosphere. It is an important industrial chemical and may be released into the air or in wastewater during its production and use. It has been detected at low levels in drinking-water, surface water, rainwater, effluents, engine exhaust and ambient and indoor air samples. It is also photochemically produced in surface water. Acetaldehyde is an intermediate product in the metabolism of ethanol and sugars and therefore occurs in trace quantities in human blood. It is present in small amounts in all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits and in plant juices and essential oils, roasted coffee and tobacco smoke (lira et al., 1985 Hagemeyer, 1991 United States National Library of Medicine, 1998). 

Wool, which is used as indoor floor covers, clothing and in many other consumer products, can emit a wide variety ofVOCs, many of which have strong odor. Lisovac and Shooter (2003) have shown that several VOCs can be detected in headspace sampling of wool and wool waxes. A number of these are odorous sulfur-containing compounds while the non-sulfur containing components include hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, the most prominent of which are 3-methylpen-tane, hexane, methylcylopentane, toluene, 2-methylpentane, ethanol, 1-butanol, pentanal, hexanal acetone, and 2-butanone. 

Pleininger, P. and Marchl, D. (1999) Occurrence of ester and ether derivatives of polyvalent alcohols in indoor air of 200 Berlin households. Proceedings of Indoor Air 99, Vol. 4, pp. 171-6. 

Environmental criteria have been established for many of these, but the utility and applicability of such criteria for indoor environments is controversial for at least four reasons. Eor example, the goals of the threshold limit values often do not include preventing irritation, a primary concern in indoor environments with requirements for close eye work at video display terminals. For most of the pollutant categories, the problem of interactions, commonly termed the multiple contaminants problem , remains inadequately defined. Even for agents that are thought to affect the same receptor, such as aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones, no prediction models are well established. Finally, the definition of representative compounds for measurement is unclear. That is, pollutants must be measurable, but complex mixtures vary in their composition. It is unclear whether the chronic residual odor annoyance from environmental tobacco smoke correlates better with nicotine, particulates, carbon monoxide, or other pollutants. The measure total volatile organic compounds is meanwhile... 

Episodes that lead to acute, non-lethal events are many and varied. They range from accidents in the home with household products to consumption of plant and animal toxins from industrial and transportation accidents to skin contact with certain plants such as poison ivy from consumption of too much alcohol to inhaling of certain air pollutants, both outdoors and indoors, that have for some reason accumulated to unusually high levels. 

Hundreds of VOCs are found in a typical nonindustrial indoor environment. Many of these compounds are aromatic hydrocarbons, alkenes, alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, esters, glycols, glycolethers, halocarbons, cycloalkanes and terpenes [2] but amines hke nicotine, pyridine, 2-pi-coline, 3-ethenylpyridine and myosmine are also widespread, especially in smoking microenvironments [3]. Moreover, low molecular weight carboxylic acids, siloxanes, alkenes, cycloalkenes and Freon 11 are frequently encountered in typical nonindustrial indoor air [1]. 

Compared with whole air sampling into Tedlar bags and canisters, active sampling onto sorbent materials is used more widely in these indoor air quality (lAQ) studies. Only a few studies made use of organic vapour monitor passive samplers. Of the sorbent materials used, Tenax is the most frequently employed, possibly because of its virtues, which are mentioned in Sect. 4.2.1. It has been used for the characterisation of aromatics, alkenes, cycloalkanes, aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols, terpenes, glycol derivatives and even amines [33,59]. 

Wang (1975) determined indoor air concentrations of several bioeffluents in a mechanically ventilated 2400-m lecture theatre containing 225-389 occupants. These were [with range of average concentrations (pg/m )] ethanol (43-84), acetone (49-70), methanol (37-72), butyric acid (42-54), acetic acid (21-24), phenol (15-18), amyl alcohol (13-27), diethyl ketone (6-20), ethyl acetate (9-31), toluene (7-36), acetaldehyde (2-8) and allyl alcohol (4-9). Many of these were considered to originate from metabolic breakdown of foodstuffs or from food components. 

Diisocyanates are an important class of chemicals of commercial interest, which are frequently used in the manufacture of indoor materials. such as adhesives, coatings, foams and rubbers (Ulrich, 1989). In some types of particle board, the diisocyanates have replaced formaldehyde. Isocyanates are characterized by the electrophilic -N=C=0 group, which can easily react with molecules containing hydroxy groups, such as water or alcohols. On hydrolysis with water, primary amines are formed, while a reaction with alcohols leads to carbamates (urethanes). Polyurethane (PUR) products are then obtained from a polyaddition of diisocyanate and diol components. Compounds commonly used in industrial surface technology are 4,4 -diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The diisocyanate monomers are known as respiratory sensitizers and cause irritation of eyes, skin and mucous membrane. Therefore, polyisocyanates such as HDI-biuret and HDI-isocyanurate with a monomer content <0.5 % are used for industrial applications, and isocyanate monomers will not achieve high concentrations in ambient air. Nevertheless, it is desirable to measure even trace emissions from materials in private dwellings. 

EXPLOSION and FIRE CONCERNS combustible liquid NFPA rating (not rated) vapors may form explosive mixtures with air flashback along vapor trail may occur vapor explosion hazard indoors, outdoors or in sewers containers may explode in fire runoff to sewer may create fire or explosion hazard liquid is flammable when exposed to heat, sparks, or flame violent reaction with oxidizers, such as perchlorates, peroxides, chlorates, nitrates, and permanganates poisonous gases are produeed in fire, including carbon monoxide use dry ehemical, carbon dioxide, or alcohol or polymer foam for firefighting purposes. 

D. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including low-molecular-weight alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones, are generated by molds, and are often responsible for the musty, disagreeable odor associated with indoor molds. A role for these VOCs in some building-related symptoms is possible. 

Butler and I first reported an experimental test of the relationship of Equation 4 for series of compounds which are common components of sex pheromones of Lepidoptera (6, 7). Half-lives were determined for saturated and unsaturated acetates and alcohols by determining the residual content of each compound in septa at time intervals after aging indoors at room temperature for up to 387 days. Half-lives were then calculated from the regression of logarithm of... 

Typical examples of VOCs for indoor air include ketones from lacquers, varnishes, and adhesives aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols from cosmetics ethers from resins and paints terpenes from polishes, fabrics, fabric softeners, cigarettes, and food and carbon tetrachloride from industrial cleaners. Usually they mix in the indoor atmosphere at the level of ppm. However, their reactivity is different and varies in the following order alcohols > aldehydes > aromatics > ketones > alkenes > alkanes [61]. 

Sample collections were performed in March of 2014. Air samples of 50 L were collected through an impaction method with a flow rate of 140 L/ min onto Malt Extract Agar (MEA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05%), using the Millipore air Tester (Millipore). Surfaces samples were collected by swabbing the surfaces of the same indoor sites, using a 10 by 10 cm square stencil disinfected with 70°/o alcohol solution between samples according to the International Standard ISO 18593 (2004). The obtained swabs were then plated onto MEA. 

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