AbstractsChemistry

Health Risks of VOCs and Aldehydes in Indoor Air

by Danielle Ydstål




Institution: Örebro University
Department:
Year: 2016
Keywords: Natural Sciences; Chemical Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Kemi; Chemistry; Kemi
Posted: 02/05/2017
Record ID: 2126604
Full text PDF: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-51779


Abstract

People tend to spend more and more time indoors, constantly breathing indoor air. In indoor air there is a mixture of chemicals from both the outdoor air, which is let in through the ventilation systems, and from the materials and products that are used indoors. To maintain good health, good indoor air quality (IAQ) is essential, not only at home but also at work. Some workplaces are more prone to air contamination than others, beauty salons being a great example. This is simply because a large number of products are used, all with a complex composition of different substances. In this study, the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aldehydes are measured in the air of different types of beauty salons and a gym. Three different types of beauty salons are included; one hair salon using traditional hair products, one hair salon using organic products and the third salon is a nail salon. The gym is included as a reference facility where low emissions of VOCs and aldehydes are expected. Also, a sample of the outdoor air in central Örebro is taken to be able to conclude that the indoor pollution is indeed from indoor sources, using indoor/outdoor ratio (I/O ratio). To evaluate the risk associated with the measured concentrations of VOCs and aldehydes a new approach using chronic limit values for calculation of hazard index (HI) and maximum cumulative ratio (MCR) is used as well as the Swedish occupational exposure limits. HI is calculated by adding all substances in the mixture’s hazard quotients (HQs), which is the measured concentration divided by the limit value. The HI is an indication of the strength of the toxicity of the mixture where a value above 1 is of concern, whereas MCR is used to identify if one or several substances are responsible for the total toxicity by dividing the HI by the maximum HQ in the mixture. The results showed a low risk for all sampling sites, except personal sampling in salon 3, where HI > 1 and MCR>2, which means concern for combined effect by several substances. ; Vi tenderar att spendera allt mer tid inomhus, vilket gör att vi konstant andas inomhusluft. I inomhusluft finns en mix av kemikalier från både luften utomhus som släpps in genom ventilationssystemen och från material och produkter vi använder inomhus. För att bibehålla god hälsa är det nödvändigt med en god kvalitet på inomhusluften, inte bara hemma utan också på jobbet. Vissa arbetsplatser löper större risk för dålig inomhusluft än andra, ett bra exempel är skönhetssalonger. Detta på grund av det stora antal produkter som används, varav alla har sin egen komplexa komposition av kemikalier. I denna studie mäts koncentrationerna av flyktiga organiska ämnen och aldehyder i inomhusluften på olika skönhetssalonger och ett gym. Tre olika skönhetssalonger deltog i studien; en hårsalong som använder sig av traditionella produkter, en hårsalong som använder ekologiska produkter och en nagelsalong. Gymmet används som en typ av referensanläggning där låga halter av flyktiga organiska…