Development of new analytical and measurement methods for characterizing the emission of phthalates from building and consumer materials into indoor air

International audiencePhthalates are ubiquitous indoor organic pollutants that are found in different building and consumer materials and are known to cause severe human health problems. In this paper, the emission of these compounds from vinyl floorings (VF) into indoor air has been studied using Automated Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (ATD-GC-MS) and a special device known as micro-chamber or thermal extractor (µ-CTE TM). So a robust analytical ATD-GC-MS method has been developed and validated to analyse eight selected phthalates. Calibration curves were linear (R 2 > 0.99), limit of detection (LOD) was down to 0.004 µg/m 3 , and the values of relative standard deviation (RSD) were less than 15% for all chosen phthalates. Then, a new micro-chamber measurement method based on diffusion has been developed for studying the emission of Diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) and Din -octyl phthalate (DnOP) from VF at different temperatures and estimating y0 (gas-phase concentration of phthalates on the surface of the material). This method was quite repeatable with 11% RSD for DiNP and 8% for DnOP

VOCs and formaldehyde emissions from cleaning products and air fresheners

International audienceHuman indoor exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) may be associated with the use of household products. However little is known about their emissions and to what extent they contribute to indoor air pollution. The French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Afsset) conducted tests in order to characterize VOCs emissions from 32 consumer products: air fresheners, glass cleaners, furniture polishes, toilet products, carpet and floor cleaning products. All experiments were conducted by the Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB) in realistic conditions of use (in emission test chamber or in an experimental house). Results show that the use of consumer products can lead to high indoor VOCs concentrations. Some of them are toxic airborne contaminants. The link between formaldehyde emissions and product compositions is discussed. Finally, formaldehyde concentrations are compared to the indoor air quality guideline value proposed by Afsse

Predicting indoor ozone and NOx concentrations

International audienceSimple modelling of indoor chemistry using FACSIMILE softwar

Chimie de la neige de très haute altitude dans les Alpes francaises

Le manteau neigeux de quatre glaciers de haute altitude (3000-3500 m) des Alpes francaises a été échantillonné pendant 3 saisons consécutives. En complément, un carottage de 13 m couvrant 3,5 années sur un glacier froid a permis de retracer la chimie de la précipitation annuelle. L'analyse des ions majeurs et des acides organiques par chromatographie ionique et par titration acide a permis d'équilibrer la balance ionique de la précipitation alpine. La neige alpine a un caractère légérement acide du essentiellement à l'ion nitrate et à la fraction d'acide sulfurique non neutralisée par l'ammoniac et les aérosols minéraux basiques. Les précipitations les plus acides reflètent l'influence des émissions de polluants des régions européennes les plus industrialisées. Les ions majeurs présentent des variations saisonnières avec un maximum d'été. Les arrivées de poussières sahariennes affectent de façon ponctuelle les hautes régions alpines, la neige étant alors alcaline. Ces poussières favorisent des réactions de neutralisation avec les composés atmosphériques acides augmentant ainsi leur dépôt. Les concentrations des acides organiques sont généralement faibles dans la neige alpine. La reprise de ces composés par les cristaux de neige est trés peu efficace du fait de leur réémission en phase gazeuse. Leurs sources sont principalement naturelles. L'ion fluoruré est présent dans la neige alpine au niveau du ppb. Au printemps et en été, les émissions de HF d'origine anthropique permettent vraisemblablement d'expliquer le bruit de fond de fluor observé hors événements saharienspas de résum

Odour assessment as a necessary complement to chemical evaluation of building products

International audienceEvaluation of emissions from building products is mainly focused on comparison between exposition concentrations of identified individual organic compounds and health criteria. No adequate integrated criterion is available for interaction and mixture effects. Besides, everyone performs daily evaluation of perceived air quality. Human beings through their senses, for example, olfaction and chemesthesis, are able to achieve a synthetic response to a global mixture of compounds. It is thus essential to perform sensory tests complementing chemical analysis to take into account the impact of the whole emission of sources. Two related questions remain to be answered: the kind of sensory test and the type of sensory information and criterion to be used in the evaluation procedure

Emissions from air fresheners and associate indoor exposures

Indoor emissions from consumer products, their respective contribution to measured concentrations and their potential effects on human health need to be characterized. We draw a state of the knowledge in order to identify major concerned substances, emerging health issues, and needs for future developments

Emissions dans l'environnement intérieur par les produits de consommation et les matériaux

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Indoor air quality impacted by ozone induced reactions

Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 7, 03088.International audienceThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of outdoor-produced ozone on indoor air quality (IAQ) as documented by two field campaigns conducted during the 2003 and 2004 summer seasons in the CSTB experimental house (MARIA). For those field experiments, new building products were installed in a test room of MARIA. The selected building products were a carpet, pinewood boards and polystyrene acoustic tiles. Ventilation conditions were precisely controlled by mechanical extraction during all experiments

Determination of VOC emissions from French wood products

International audienceIn order to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), it appears necessary to have analytical protocol for the measurement and health evaluation of building product emissions. In this context, the CTBA (French Wood Technical Centre) and the CSTB (French Building Technical Centre), set up and tested a methodology to characterise emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from wood building materials. This methodological tool called "Bench of Quality", aims at measuring VOC emissions from building products with laboratory emission test chamber method (European Standard prEN 13419 : 2002) and evaluating the resulting health impact. In all, 15 wood building products were tested : solid wood, wood based panels (particleboards, particleboards with melamine on top, unsanded and painted plywood), glulam, laminate flooring. Results showed that Standard prEN 13419 can readily be applied to solid wood products. A standardised methodology is now available for French wood manufacturers to determine IAQ performances of their products and to confront them with other building products

Experimental study of reactions between ozone and building products

International audienceThe purpose of this paper is to present an experimental setup developed to characterize reactions between ozone and building products and document their potential impact on indoor air quality. Preliminary experiments were conducted on four building products: two carpets, a gypsum board and a pine wood board. These preliminary experiments clearly indicate that ozone is significantly removed in contact with the four selected products. Measured ozone removal were around 65% for the two carpets, 70% for the gypsum board and 75% for the pine wood board. In case of exposure to ozone, emissions of building products were modified and reaction products (mainly carbonyl compounds) have been identified. For instance, when exposed to ozone, the carpet with PVC backing shows higher emissions of formaldehyde, the carpet with textile backing emits nonanal and decanal and the pine wood board exhibits increased emissions of hexanal