Non-professional paint stripping, model prediction and experimental validation of indoor dichloromethane levels

Abstract

We have experimentally quantified exposure to dichloromethane during non-professional paint stripping and validated the mathematical paint exposure model of van Veen et al. (1999). The model innovates the prediction of the dichloromethane evaporation rate and room concentration by accounting for transport in the paint stripper matrix. The experiments show that peak concentrations range from 600 to 1600 mg/m3, increasing to 2000 mg/m3 when direct sun radiation increases evaporation. A naive model prediction, using a priori parameter values from the experimental set-up and a previous experiment with alkanes, accurately predicts the upper range of the experimental values, but overpredicted four out of six experiments. Statistical fit of the two paint stripper layer parameters to the experimental data resulted in a good coincidence of predicted and experimental data. Model and experiment indicate that 10-30% of dichloromethane is immediately available for evaporation.

Housing Characteristics and Indoor Concentrations of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Quebec City, Canada

“…was found in one home. Dichloromethane is a main ingredient in many brands of paint stripper, and paint stripping has previously been associated with high dichloromethane concentrations in residential rooms [28]. Recent painting was documented in this study, but the specific use of paint strippers was not.…”

“…This limitation may have led to an under-or over-estimation of concentrations of some compounds in our study, but is unlikely to have an influence on the associations between VOCs and the characteristics of the houses and occupants' activities. Dichloromethane is a main ingredient in many brands of paint stripper, and paint stripping has previously been associated with high dichloromethane concentrations in residential rooms [28]. Recent painting was documented in this study, but the specific use of paint strippers was not.…”

Detection of dichloromethane with a bioluminescent (lux) bacterial bioreporter

“…This is well below the predicted DCM concentrations for consumer paint stripper applications that range from 170 to 453 ppm in residential, low-ventilation rooms [31]. Occupational exposures, for example, during aircraft paint stripping operations, produce DCM at concentrations estimated to range from 20 to 525 ppm [29,33].…”

Evaluation of three physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling tools for emergency risk assessment after acute dichloromethane exposure

“…This explains why the participants were not exposed to DCM using breathing masks, but rather had to mimic someone who would normally apply paint stripper on a surface and subsequently remove it with a brush and scraper. This experimental study had been conducted in our department years ago but only the results concerning the modeling of the air DCM concentration in the room have ever been published (Van Veen et al, 2002). However, the available original Case Report Forms and source documents contained data on participants, the Table 2 Comparison of the predicted values with the experimental data for DCM blood concentrations and % HbCO (AUC ratios and MSSD values).…”

“…The human data were obtained from a prior healthy volunteer study (Van Veen et al, 2002) approved by the Medical Ethical Board of the University Medical Center, Utrecht. In this study, 11 healthy volunteers were individually exposed to DCM for 1 h, with or without an air mask.…”