Characterization and source profiling of volatile organic compounds in indoor air of private residences in Selangor State, Malaysia

Nobumitsu Sakai; Shuta Yamamoto; Yasuto Matsui; Md Firoz Khan; Mohd Talib Latif; Mustafa Ali Mohd; Minoru Yoneda

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.139

Characterization and source profiling of volatile organic compounds in indoor air of private residences in Selangor State, Malaysia

Sci Total Environ. 2017 May 15:586:1279-1286. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.139. Epub 2017 Feb 22.

Authors

Nobumitsu Sakai¹, Shuta Yamamoto², Yasuto Matsui², Md Firoz Khan³, Mohd Talib Latif⁴, Mustafa Ali Mohd⁵, Minoru Yoneda²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 6158540, Japan; Shimadzu-UMMC Centre of Xenobiotic Studies, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: sakai@risk.env.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
² Division of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 6158540, Japan.
³ Research Centre for Tropical Climate Change System (IKLIM), Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia.
⁴ School of Environment and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia; Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia.
⁵ Shimadzu-UMMC Centre of Xenobiotic Studies, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.

PMID: 28236484
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.139

Abstract

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in indoor air were investigated at 39 private residences in Selangor State, Malaysia to characterize the indoor air quality and to identify pollution sources. Twenty-two VOCs including isomers (14 aldehydes, 5 aromatic hydrocarbons, acetone, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene) were collected by 2 passive samplers for 24h and quantitated using high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Source profiling based on benzene/toluene ratio as well as statistical analysis (cluster analysis, bivariate correlation analysis and principal component analysis) was performed to identify pollution sources of the detected VOCs. The VOCs concentrations were compared with regulatory limits of air quality guidelines in WHO/EU, the US, Canada and Japan to clarify the potential health risks to the residents. The 39 residences were classified into 2 groups and 2 ungrouped residences based on the dendrogram in the cluster analysis. Group 1 (n=30) had mainly toluene (6.87±2.19μg/m³), formaldehyde (16.0±10.1μg/m³), acetaldehyde (5.35±4.57μg/m³) and acetone (11.1±5.95μg/m³) at background levels. Group 2 (n=7) had significantly high values of formaldehyde (99.3±10.7μg/m³) and acetone (35.8±12.6μg/m³), and a tendency to have higher values of acetaldehyde (23.7±13.5μg/m³), butyraldehyde (3.35±0.41μg/m³) and isovaleraldehyde (2.30±0.39μg/m³). The 2 ungrouped residences showed particularly high concentrations of BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene: 235μg/m³ in total) or acetone (133μg/m³). The geometric mean value of formaldehyde (19.2μg/m³) exceeded an 8-hour regulatory limit in Canada (9μg/m³), while those in other compounds did not exceed any regulatory limits, although a few residences exceeded at least one regulatory limit of benzene or acetaldehyde. Thus, the VOCs in the private residences were effectively characterized from the limited number of monitoring, and the potential health risks of the VOCs exposure, particularly formaldehyde, should be considered in the study area.

Keywords: Characterization; GC–MS; HPLC; Indoor air; Source profiling; Volatile organic compounds.

MeSH terms

Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis*
Environmental Monitoring*
Housing
Malaysia
Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis*

Substances

Volatile Organic Compounds