Objectives: To examine (1) whether dust and surfaces in households of smokers are contaminated with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); (2) whether smoking parents can protect their infants by smoking outside and away from the infant; and (3) whether contaminated dust, surfaces, and air contribute to ETS exposure in infants. Design: Quasi-experiment comparing three types of households with infants: (1) non-smokers who believe they have protected their children from ETS; (2) smokers who believe they have protected their children from ETS; (3) smokers who expose their children to ETS. Setting: Homes of smokers and non-smokers. Participants: Smoking and non-smoking mothers and their infants ( 1 year. Main outcome measures: ETS contamination as measured by nicotine in household dust, indoor air, and household surfaces. ETS exposure as measured by cotinine levels in infant urine. Results: ETS contamination and ETS exposure were 5-7 times higher in households of smokers trying to protect their infants by smoking outdoors than in households of non-smokers. ETS contamination and exposure were 3-8 times higher in households of smokers who exposed their infants to ETS by smoking indoors than in households of smokers trying to protect their children by smoking outdoors. Conclusions: Dust and surfaces in homes of smokers are contaminated with ETS. Infants of smokers are at risk of ETS exposure in their homes through dust, surfaces, and air. Smoking outside the home and away from the infant reduces but does not completely protect a smoker's home from ETS contamination and a smoker's infant from ETS exposure.
Needle trap device samplers were used for rapid (60 s) quantitative sampling of short-term exposure limit (STEL) and peak exposure standard concentrations using a manually operated pump to collect small volume (10 mL) gas phase samples containing methylene chloride, benzene, toluene, and tetrachloroethylene vapors. Solventless introduction of chemical samples for gas chromatography analysis with flame ionization detection yielded linear results (R(2) > 0.99) for vapor standard mixtures of the four target analytes ranging from 10% to 200% of their respective nominal STEL or peak exposure standard concentrations. Needle trap samplers showed ≥86% recovery (as GC-FID peak area responses) following 14-day storage at room temperature compared to the same samplers analyzed immediately, with better recovery values observed with shorter storage (≥95% at room temperature for seven days, except for methylene chloride) or with storage at 4°C. Calibration for quantitation of concentrations of benzene, toluene, and tetrachloroethylene was shown to be possible with the use of an internal standard to account for injector discrimination between the solventless NTD approach and injections of target analytes in carbon disulfide. Due to the simple sampling method (no field calibration and battery-free pumping) and the avoidance of solvent dilution, a needle trap sampling approach could simplify sample collection and analysis to chromatographically determine nearly instantaneous (1 min) exposure concentrations.
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