On organic emissions testing from indoor consumer products' use

J Bartzis; P Wolkoff; M Stranger; G Efthimiou; E I Tolis; F Maes; A W Nørgaard; G Ventura; K K Kalimeri; E Goelen; O Fernandes

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.11.024

On organic emissions testing from indoor consumer products' use

J Hazard Mater. 2015 Mar 21:285:37-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.11.024. Epub 2014 Nov 20.

Authors

J Bartzis¹, P Wolkoff², M Stranger³, G Efthimiou⁴, E I Tolis⁵, F Maes⁶, A W Nørgaard⁷, G Ventura⁸, K K Kalimeri⁹, E Goelen¹⁰, O Fernandes¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Technology Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Sialvera & Bakola Str., 50100 Kozani, Greece. Electronic address: bartzis@uowm.gr.
² National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkalle 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: pwo@arbejdsmiljoforskning.dk.
³ Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium. Electronic address: marianne.stranger@vito.be.
⁴ Environmental Technology Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Sialvera & Bakola Str., 50100 Kozani, Greece. Electronic address: gefthimiou@uowm.gr.
⁵ Environmental Technology Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Sialvera & Bakola Str., 50100 Kozani, Greece. Electronic address: etolis@uowm.gr.
⁶ Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium. Electronic address: frederick.maes@vito.be.
⁷ National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkalle 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: awn@arbejdsmiljoforskning.dk.
⁸ Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: gvs@fe.up.pt.
⁹ Environmental Technology Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Sialvera & Bakola Str., 50100 Kozani, Greece. Electronic address: kkalimeri@uowm.gr.
¹⁰ Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium. Electronic address: eddy.goelen@vito.be.
¹¹ Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: eof@fe.up.pt.

PMID: 25462869
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.11.024

Abstract

A wide range of consumer and personal care products may, during their use, release significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOC) into the air. The identification and quantification of the emissions from such sources is typically performed in emission test chambers. A major question is to what degree the obtained emissions are reproducible and directly applicable to real situations. The present work attempts partly to address this question by comparison of selected VOC emissions in specific consumer products tested in chambers of various dimensions. The measurements were performed in three test chambers of different volumes (0.26-20 m(3)). The analytic performance of the laboratories was rigorously assessed prior to chamber testing. The results show emission variation for major VOC (terpenes); however, it remains in general, within the same order of magnitude for all tests. This variability does not seem to correlate with the chamber volume. It rather depends on the overall testing conditions. The present work is undertaken in the frame of EPHECT European Project.

Keywords: Consumer products; Emission comparisons; Indoor air quality; Organic emissions; Test chamber.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis*
Consumer Product Safety
Detergents
Environmental Monitoring
Perfume
Terpenes / analysis*
Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Detergents
Perfume
Terpenes
Volatile Organic Compounds