Pedro A. F. Souza, Leigh R. Crilley, Yashar E. Iranpour, Jay Dave, Trevor C. VandenBoer* and Tara F. Kahan*,
{"title":"Particulate Matter and Total Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Following Surface Cleaning: Comparison of Cleaning Agents and Locations","authors":"Pedro A. F. Souza, Leigh R. Crilley, Yashar E. Iranpour, Jay Dave, Trevor C. VandenBoer* and Tara F. Kahan*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c0004610.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00046","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >Cleaning activities are essential for maintaining hygiene in indoor environments but can significantly influence indoor air quality (IAQ). We investigated emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) during cleaning events across various indoor settings including two laboratories, an office, and a residential bathroom, with room volumes ranging from 22 to 206 m<sup>3</sup> and air changes rates (ACR) of 0.85–9.14 h<sup>-1</sup>. Four cleaning solutions with different active ingredients were evaluated: quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), sodium hypochlorite (bleach), and thymol. Cleaning increased PM<sub>2.5</sub> by 0.7–14.5 μg m<sup>–3</sup>, depending on location and cleaning solution, with quats generally yielding the greatest increases. Measured total volatile organic compound (TVOC) mixing ratios also increased following cleaning by 10–104 ppbv, with the exception of experiments performed using thymol. We note that sensors such as the photoionization detector (PID) used in this work do not provide quantitative TVOC measurements. In general, greater emissions of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and TVOCs were observed in locations with lower ACR. We also measured PM<sub>2.5</sub> in a lobby, elevator, and public bathroom in a hotel with a number of COVID-positive occupants during routine surface disinfection using a quats-based disinfectant: increases of 5.5–14.2 μg m<sup>–3</sup> were observed. This study demonstrates that emissions other than active ingredients can affect IAQ during surface cleaning, and provides information that may help mitigate harmful effects. It also provides insight into the use and limitations of low-cost sensors (LCS) in determining IAQ impacts from cleaning.</p>","PeriodicalId":15,"journal":{"name":"ACS Earth and Space Chemistry","volume":"9 6","pages":"1622–1632 1622–1632"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00046","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACS Earth and Space Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00046","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Cleaning activities are essential for maintaining hygiene in indoor environments but can significantly influence indoor air quality (IAQ). We investigated emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) during cleaning events across various indoor settings including two laboratories, an office, and a residential bathroom, with room volumes ranging from 22 to 206 m3 and air changes rates (ACR) of 0.85–9.14 h-1. Four cleaning solutions with different active ingredients were evaluated: quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), sodium hypochlorite (bleach), and thymol. Cleaning increased PM2.5 by 0.7–14.5 μg m–3, depending on location and cleaning solution, with quats generally yielding the greatest increases. Measured total volatile organic compound (TVOC) mixing ratios also increased following cleaning by 10–104 ppbv, with the exception of experiments performed using thymol. We note that sensors such as the photoionization detector (PID) used in this work do not provide quantitative TVOC measurements. In general, greater emissions of PM2.5 and TVOCs were observed in locations with lower ACR. We also measured PM2.5 in a lobby, elevator, and public bathroom in a hotel with a number of COVID-positive occupants during routine surface disinfection using a quats-based disinfectant: increases of 5.5–14.2 μg m–3 were observed. This study demonstrates that emissions other than active ingredients can affect IAQ during surface cleaning, and provides information that may help mitigate harmful effects. It also provides insight into the use and limitations of low-cost sensors (LCS) in determining IAQ impacts from cleaning.
期刊介绍:
The scope of ACS Earth and Space Chemistry includes the application of analytical, experimental and theoretical chemistry to investigate research questions relevant to the Earth and Space. The journal encompasses the highly interdisciplinary nature of research in this area, while emphasizing chemistry and chemical research tools as the unifying theme. The journal publishes broadly in the domains of high- and low-temperature geochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, marine chemistry, planetary chemistry, astrochemistry, and analytical geochemistry. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry publishes Articles, Letters, Reviews, and Features to provide flexible formats to readily communicate all aspects of research in these fields.