No abstract

For healthcare centers, local outdoor sources of air pollution represent a potential threat to indoor air quality (IAQ). The aim of this study was to study the impact of local outdoor sources of air pollution on the IAQ of a university hospital. IAQ was characterized at thirteen indoor and two outdoor locations and source samples were collected from a helicopter and an emergency power supply. Volatile organic compounds (VOC), acrolein, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), respirable particulate matter (PM-4.0 and PM-2.5) and their respective benz(a)pyrene contents were determined over a period of two weeks. Time-weighted average concentrations of NO2 (4.9–17.4 μg/m3) and formaldehyde (2.5–6.4 μg/m3) were similar on all indoor and outdoor locations. The median concentration VOC in indoor air was 119 μg/m3 (range: 33.1–2450 μg/m3) and was fivefold higher in laboratories (316 μg/m3) compared to offices (57.0 μg/m3). PM-4.0 and benzo(a)pyrene concentration were lower in buildings serviced by a >99.95% efficiency particle filter, compared to buildings using a standard 80–90% efficiency filter (p < 0.01). No indications were found that support a significant contribution of known local sources such as fuels or combustion engines to any of the IAQ parameters measured in this study. Chemical IAQ was primarily driven by known indoor sources and activities.

Primary schools mostly rely on natural ventilation but also have an interest in affordable technology to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). Laboratory tests show promising results for dust reducing carpets and compact air filtration systems but there is no information available on the performance of these interventions in actual operating classrooms. An exploratory study was performed to evaluate a combination of the two systems in a primary school. Measurements of PM-10 and PM-2.5 were performed by filter sampling and aerosol spectrometry. Other IAQ parameters included black smoke (BS), volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde. Both interventions were introduced in one classroom during one week, using another classroom as a reference. In a second week the interventions were moved to the other classroom, using the first as a reference (cross-over design). In three remaining weeks the classrooms were compared without interventions. Indoor IAQ parameters were compared to the corresponding outdoor parameters using the indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio. When the classrooms were occupied (teaching hours) interventions resulted in 27-43% reductions of PM-10, PM-2.5 and BS values. During the weekends the systems reduced these levels by 51-87%. Evaluations using the change in I/O ratios gave comparable results. Levels of VOC, NO2 and formaldehyde were rather low and a contribution of the interventions to the improvement of these gas phase IAQ parameters was inconclusive.

Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylpentasiloxane (D5) are used as ingredients for personal care products (PCPs). Because of the use of these PCPs, consumers are exposed daily to D4 and D5. A sensitive analytical method was developed for analysis of D4 and D5 in end-exhaled air by thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS), to determine the internal dose for consumer exposure assessment. Fifteen consumers provided end-exhaled air samples that were collected using Bio-VOC breath samplers and subsequently transferred to automatic thermal desorption (ATD) tubes. Prior to use, the ATD tubes were conditioned for a minimum of 4 h at 350°C. The TD unit and auto sampler were coupled to a GC-MS using electron ionization. Calibration was performed using 0−10 ng/μL solutions of D4/D5 and 13 C-labeled D4/D5 as internal standards. The ions monitored were m/z 281 for D4, 355 for D5, 285 for 13 C-labeled D4, and 360 for 13 C-labeled D5. The addition of internal standard reduced the coefficient of variation from 30.8% to 9.5% for D4 and from 37.8% to 12.5% for D5. The limit of quantification was 2.1 ng/L end-exhaled air for D4 and 1.4 ng/L end-exhaled air for D5. With this method, cyclic siloxanes (D4 and D5) can be quantified in end-exhaled air at concentrations as low as background levels observed in the general population.