Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from a Personal Care Polymer-Based Item: Simulation of the Inhalation Exposure Scenario Indoors under Actual Conditions of Use

Jolanda Palmisani, Alessia Di Gilio, Ezia Cisternino, Maria Tutino and Gianluigi de Gennaro
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Jolanda Palmisani: Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Alessia Di Gilio: Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Ezia Cisternino: Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Maria Tutino: Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Gianluigi de Gennaro: Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Polymer-based items may release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors indoors, contributing to the overall VOC inhalation exposure for end users and building occupants. The main objective of the present study is the evaluation of short-term inhalation exposure to VOCs due to the use of a personal care polymer-based item, namely, one of three electric heating bags, through a strategic methodological approach and the simulation of a ‘near-to-real’ exposure scenario. Seventy two-hour test chamber experiments were first performed to characterize VOC emissions with the items on ‘not-heating mode’ and to derive related emission rates. The polyester bag was revealed to be responsible for the highest emissions both in terms of total VOC and naphthalene emissions (437 and 360 µg/m 3 , respectively), compared with the other two bags under investigation. Complementary investigations on ‘heating mode’ and the simulation of the exposure scenario inside a 30 m 3 reference room allowed us to highlight that the use of the polyester bag in the first life-cycle period could determine a naphthalene concentration (42 µg/m 3 ) higher than the reference Lowest Concentration of Interest (LCI) value (10 µg/m 3 ) reported in European evaluation schemes. The present study proposes a strategic methodological approach highlighting the need for the simulation of a realistic scenario when potential hazards for human health need to be assessed.

Keywords: VOCs; polymer-based items; indoor air quality; test emission chamber; exposure scenario (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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