Volatile exposure indoors

Wallace LA. 1986. Personal exposures, indoor and outdoor air concentrations and exhaled breath concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds measured for 600 residents of New Jersey, North Dakota, North Carolina, and California. Toxicol Environ Chem 12 215-236. 

Wallace LA, Pellizzari ED, Hartwell TD, et al. 1986a. Total exposure assessment methodology (TEAM) study Personal exposures, indoor-outdoor relationships, and breath levels of volatile organic compounds in New Jersey. Environ Int 12 369-387. 

Wallace LA, Nelson WC, Ziegenfus R, et al. 1991. The Los Angeles Team Study Personal Exposures, Indoor-Outdoor air Concentrations, and Breath Concentrations of 25 Volatile Organic Compounds. J Exp Anal Environ Epidemiol 1(2) 157-192. 

Wallace, L.A., W.C. Nelson, R. Ziegenfus, and E. Pellizzari (1991a). The Los Angeles TEAM study Personal exposures, indoor-outdoor air concentrations, and breath concentrations of 25 volatile organic compounds, 7. Expo. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol., 1, 37-72. 

Wallace L, Howard-Reed C (2002) Continuous monitoring of ultrafine, fine, and course particles in a residence for 18 months in 1999-2000. J Air Waste Manag Assoc 52 828-844 Wallace L, Nelson W, Ziegenfus R et al (1991) The Los Angeles TEAM study Personal exposures, indoor-outdoor air concentrations, and breath concentrations of 25 volatile organic compounds. J Expos Anal Environ Epidemiol 1 157-192 Wallace L, Emmerich S, Howard-Reed C (2004) Effect of central fans and in-duct filters on deposition rates of ultrafine and fine particles in an occupied townhouse. Atmos Environ 38 405-413... 

Air contaminants are emitted to the indoor air from a wide variety of activities and consumer products, some of which are summarized in Table 11. Most indoor activities produce some types of pollutants. When using volatile products or engaging in the activities Hsted, care should be exercised to minimize exposure through proper use of the product and by providing adequate ventilation. 

In nonindustrial settings, MCS substances are the cause of indoor air pollution and are the contaminants in air and water. Many of the chemicals which trigger MCS symptoms are known to be irritants or toxic to the nervous system. As an example, volatile organic compounds readily evaporate into the air at room temperature. Permitted airborne levels of such contaminants can still make ordinary people sick. When the human body is assaulted with levels of toxic chemicals that it cannot safely process, it is likely that at some point an individual will become ill. For some, the outcome could be cancer or reproductive damage. Others may become hypersensitive to these chemicals or develop other chronic disorders, while some people may not experience any noticeable health effects. Even where high levels of exposure occur, generally only a small percentage of people become chemically sensitive. 

As a result of volatilization, significantly elevated indoor air levels of trichloroethylene can occur in homes that use water supplies contaminated with trichloroethylene (Andelman 1985a). The transfer of trichloroethylene from shower water to air in one study had a mean efficiency of 61% which was independent of water temperature (McKone and Knezovich 1991). The study authors concluded that showering for 10 minutes in water contaminated with trichloroethylene could result in a daily exposure by inhalation comparable to that expected by drinking contaminated tap water. Another study using a model shower system found that, in addition to shower spray, shower water collecting around the drain could be an important source of volatilized trichloroethylene, and the fraction volatilized could be affected by spray drop size and flow rate (Giardino et al. 1992). 

Andelman JB. 1985a. Human exposures to volatile halogenated organic chemicals in indoor and outdoor air. Environ Health Perspect 62 313 -318. 

McKone TE. 1987. Human exposure to volatile organic compounds in household tap water The indoor inhalation pathway. Environmental Science and Technology 21 1194-1201. 

From the above it can be concluded that the risk for lung cancer induction from chronic indoor exposure to Rn-d is unlikely to be higher than 1.10 4/mSv. in order to understand the magnitude of this risk it has to be emphasized that man can be exposed to a multitude of different hazardous materials in the indoor atmosphere besides Rn-d, such as formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrosamines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, asbestos and pesticides (Gammage and Kaye, 1985). 

Wallace LA, Hartwell TD, Perritt K, et al. 1987d. The influence of personal activities on exposure to volatile organic compounds. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Germany, 2-181 to 2-185. 

Infants and toddlers are exposed to higher levels (based on their greater dose to surface area [or body weight] ratio) of heptachlor epoxide in the diet (particularly from milk) than are adults. Higher exposure rates in indoor air may occur for at least 1 year in homes that have been treated for termites with heptachlor in the past. Although the most likely routes of exposure at hazardous waste sites are unknown, exposure may result from ingestion of contaminated soil near these sites particularly by children. Since both heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide volatilize from soil, inhalation exposure may also be important for persons living near hazardous waste sites. Exposure via... 

Kanazawa A, Saito I, Araki A, Takeda M, Ma M, Saijo Y, Kishi R (2010) Association between indoor exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds and building-related symptoms among the occupants of residential dwellings. Indoor Air 20 72-84... 

Michael LC, Pellizzari ED, Perritt RL, et al. 1990. Comparison of indoor, backyard, and centralized air monitoring strategies for assessing personal exposure to volatile organic compounds. Environmental Science and Technology 24 996-1003. 

As discussed in detail throughout this book, there is rich and complex chemistry involving volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen, and ozone in ambient air. One might therefore anticipate similar chemistry in indoor air environments, and although there are far fewer studies, this does indeed appear to be the case. Weschler and Shields (1997b) and Wolkoff et al. (1997, 1999) review VOC-NOx chemistry that could potentially be important in indoor air enviro-ments and the implications for human exposures. 

McKone, T. E., Human Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds in Household Tap Water The Indoor Inhalation Pathway, Environ. Sci. Technol., 21, 1194-1201 (1987). 

Korn, M., Gfrorer, W., Herz, R., Wodarz, I. Wodarz, R. (1992) Stereometabolism of ethylbenzene in man gas chromatographic determination of urinary excreted mandelic acid enatiomers and phenylglyoxylic acid and their relation to the height of occupational exposure. Int. Arch, occup. environ. Health, 64, 75-78 Kostiainen, R. (1995) Volatile organic compounds in the indoor air of normal and sick houses. Atmos. Environ., 29, 693-702... 

Volatile organic compounds comparison of personal exposure and indoor air quality measurements. Proceedings of Indoor Air 96, July 21-26, Nagoya, Japan, 1996, Vol. 

VVOCs, (b.p. <0 to 50-100°C) and VOCs, (b.p. 50-100 to 240-260 °C) are transitory and predominantly found in air. Organic compounds of lower volatility, that is, SVOCs (b.p. 240-260 to 380-400°C) are present in air as well as in dust, whereas POM (b.p. >380°C) is part of the dust indoors. Analyses of SVOCs in indoor air and house dust are a measure of indoor contamination but may also provide valuable information for the assessment of human indoor exposure. 

Semi-volatile organic compounds in the indoor environment are a relevant source of exposure for the occupants, but guideline values for SVOCs in air are... 

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