Unexpectedly high concentrations of monoterpenes in a study of UK homes

Abstract

The abundance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in homes depends on many factors such as emissions, ventilation and the oxidative environment and these are evolving over time, reflecting changes in chemical use, behaviour and building design/materials. The concentrations of VOCs in 25 UK homes of varying ages, design and occupancy were quantified using continuous indoor air sampling over five days. Air was collected through low flow (1 mL min) constant flow restrictors into evacuated 6 L internally silica-treated canisters until the canisters reached atmospheric pressure. This was followed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography and high mass accuracy time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TD-GC-TOF/MS). A fully quantitative analysis was performed on the eight most abundant hydrocarbon-based VOCs found. Despite differences in building characteristics and occupant numbers 94% of the homes had d-limonene or α-pinene as the most abundant VOCs. The variability seen across the 25 homes in concentrations of monoterpenes indoors was considerably greater than that of species such as isoprene, benzene, toluene and xylenes. The variance in VOCs indoors appeared to be strongly influenced by occupant activities such as cleaning with 5-day average concentrations of d-limonene ranging from 18 μg m to over 1400 μg m, a peak domestic value that is possibly the highest yet reported in the literature.

VOCs Measurements in Residential Buildings: Quantification via Thermal Desorption and Assessment of Indoor Concentrations in a Case-Study

“…In a large survey performed in England, Raw and collaborators registered concentrations of d-limonene from 0.1 to 308 µg/m 3 , with an average geometric mean of 6.2 µg/m 3 [51]. A more recent study carried out in English residential buildings showed concentration values between 18 and 1439 µg/m 3 , with one of the highest domestic values reported in the literature for d-limonene [4]. In the AIRMEX study, the authors identified α-pinene and d-limonene as being predominantly derived from indoor sources, with mean concentrations of 14.5 and 29.2 µg/m 3 observed in homes, respectively [18].…”

“…The indoor air quality (IAQ) is strictly dependent on the occurrence of several chemicals, or classes of chemicals, among which volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent one of the most important categories of pollutants influencing the air quality, and consequently, human well-being and health [1][2][3][4]. VOCs are classified as organic compounds having a boiling point between 50 • C and 260 • C. These compounds can be emitted into the atmosphere from anthropogenic or biogenic sources, and may also be formed as products of the atmospheric transformation of other VOCs [5].…”

“…A large number of different investigations exist for a variety of private and public indoor environments and for the most common pollutants like BTEX, styrene, terpenes [3,4,9,18,23,24], but there are also other priority or emerging chemicals for which the available information is still too limited. Moreover, up to now, there are no national or European legislations that explicitly indicate harmonized protocols for the IAQ monitoring and management.…”

Secondary product creation potential (SPCP): a metric for assessing the potential impact of indoor air pollution on human health

“…12 Its formation indoors has been documented following the use of limonene containing cleaners. 13 However, for many of the secondary products formed indoors, there is very little information about their typical indoor concentrations and at what concentration they become a cause for concern.…”

The importance of cylinder passivation chemistry for preparation and long-term stability of multicomponent monoterpene primary reference materials

“…Terpenes are also known to be emitted from building materials (Allen, Brewer et al 2016) and household products, in which they are primarily used as fragrances and flavourings (Wolkoff, Schneider et al 1998, Lamorena and Lee 2008, Steinemann, MacGregor et al 2011, Wang, Barratt et al 2017, impacting indoor air quality (Singer, Destaillats et al 2006, Nazaroff andGoldstein 2015). In particular, the exposure of the public to terpenes in indoor air quality is poorly understood due to a lack of available data, despite the toxicity of their photochemical products (Jones 1999, Wolkoff and Nielsen 2001, Wang, Ang et al 2007, Wang, Barratt et al 2017.…”