Hermann Fromme , Marina Sysoltseva , Alexandra Schieweck , Claudia Röhl , Felicia Gerull , Rafael Burghardt , Andreas Gessner , Heike Papavlassopoulos , Wolfgang Völkel , Wolfgang Schober
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
People, including sensitive population groups such as children, spend over 90 % of their time indoors and are exposed to volatile and very volatile organic compounds (VOCs/VVOCs) and endotoxins. We measured 34 VVOCs, 69 VOCs, two organic acids, and endotoxins in the indoor air of 34 apartments and 27 classrooms using four different sampling techniques and analytical methods. Our study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of a broad spectrum of substances rarely measured in indoor air. The following substance classes showed the highest sum medians in classrooms and apartments: alcohols 249 μg/m3 and 518 μg/m3, aldehydes/acetone 81.6 μg/m3 and 121 μg/m3 and organic acids 61 μg/m3 and 82 μg/m3. The individual substances with the highest medians were ethanol > acetic acid > acetone > decamethylcyclopentasiloxane > formaldehyde > acetaldehyde. The median of the total volatile organic compounds as the sum of the VOCs of C6-C16 was 253 μg/m3 (range: 638–3369 μg/m3) in the apartments and 277 μg/m3 (61–900 μg/m3) in the classrooms. The median (95th percentile) levels of endotoxins in the classrooms and apartments were 5.8 EU/m3 (15.3 EU/m3) and 0.26 EU/m3 (0.91 EU/m3), respectively. Concentrations in apartments are significantly lower than in schools. According to current knowledge, levels pose no health risk.
In addition to the classic VOCs, VVOCs should also be measured to a greater extent, as considerable exposure to substances from this group is expected indoors. These results underline the urgent need for further research to improve indoor air quality and protect public health.
期刊介绍:
Atmospheric Environment has an open access mirror journal Atmospheric Environment: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review.
Atmospheric Environment is the international journal for scientists in different disciplines related to atmospheric composition and its impacts. The journal publishes scientific articles with atmospheric relevance of emissions and depositions of gaseous and particulate compounds, chemical processes and physical effects in the atmosphere, as well as impacts of the changing atmospheric composition on human health, air quality, climate change, and ecosystems.