Laboratory study of PCB transport from primary sources to settled dust.

Dust is an important sink for indoor air pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were used in building materials and products. In this study, two types of dust, house dust and Arizona Test Dust, were tested in a 30-m(3) stainless steel chamber with two types of panels. The PCB-containing panels were aluminum sheets coated with a PCB-spiked primer or caulk. The PCB-free panels were coated with the same materials but without PCBs. The dust evenly spread on each panel was collected at different times to determine its PCB content. The data from the PCB panels were used to evaluate the PCB migration from the source to the dust through direct contact, and the data from the PCB-free panels were used to evaluate the sorption of PCBs through the dust/air partition. Settled dust can adsorb PCBs from air. The sorption concentration was dependent on the congener concentration in the air and favored less volatile congeners. When the house dust was in direct contact with the PCB-containing panel, PCBs migrated into the dust at a much faster rate than the PCB transfer rate due to the dust/air partition. The dust/source partition was not significantly affected by the congener's volatility. For a given congener, the ratio between its concentration in the dust and in the source was used to estimate the dust/source partition coefficient. The estimated values ranged from 0.04 to 0.16. These values are indicative of the sink strength of the tested house dust being in the middle or lower-middle range.

Chamber study of PCB emissions from caulking materials and light ballasts.

The emissions of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners from thirteen caulk samples were tested in a micro-chamber system. Twelve samples were from PCB-contaminated buildings and one was prepared in the laboratory. Nineteen light ballasts collected from buildings that represent 13 different models from five manufacturers were tested in 53-L environmental chambers. The rates of PCB congener emissions from caulking materials and light ballasts were determined. Several factors that may have affected the emission rates were evaluated. The experimentally determined emission factors showed that, for a given PCB congener, there is a linear correlation between the emission factor and the concentration of the PCB congener in the source. Furthermore, the test results showed that an excellent log-linear correlation exists between the normalized emission factor and the vapor pressure (coefficient of determination, r(2)⩾0.8846). The PCB congener emissions from ballasts at or near room temperature were relatively low with or without electrical load. However, the PCB congener emission rates increased significantly as the temperature increased. The results of this research provide new data and models for ranking the primary sources of PCBs and supports the development and refinement of exposure assessment models for PCBs.

Concentrations and trends of perfluorinated chemicals in potential indoor sources from 2007 through 2011 in the US.

Certain perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in consumer products used indoors are potential indoor PFCs sources and have been associated with developmental toxicity and other adverse health effects in laboratory animals (Lao et al., 2007). The concentrations of selected PFCs including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), in 35 selected consumer products that are commonly used in indoors were measured from the year of 2007 through 2011. The products collected included carpet, commercial carpet-care liquids, household carpet/fabric-care liquids, treated apparel, treated home textiles, treated non-woven medical garments, floor waxes, food-contact paper, membranes for apparel, and thread-sealant tapes. They were purchased from retail outlets in the United States between March 2007 and September 2011. The perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA) contents in the products have shown an overall downward trend. However, PFOA (C8) could still be detected in many products that we analyzed. Reductions of PFCAs were shown in both short-chain PFCAs (sum of C4 to C7) and long-chain PFCAs (sum of C8 to C12) over the study period. There were no significant changes observed between short-chain PFCAs and long-chain PFCAs. Fourteen products were analyzed to determine the amounts of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs) they contained. These limited data show the pronounced increase of perfluoro-butane sulfonate (PFBS), an alternative to perfluorooctanoic sulfonate (PFOS), in the samples. A longer and wider range of study will be required to confirm this observed trend.

Emissions from cooking microwave popcorn.

This study characterized chemicals released into a chamber in the process of cooking microwave popcorn. Seventeen types of microwave popcorn from eight different brands were studied. The work proceeded in two phases: phase one investigated chemicals emitted during popping and opening, phase two investigated chemicals emitted at discrete intervals from 0-40 minutes post-pop opening. The research was performed using a microwave oven enclosed in a chamber with ports for air sampling of particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs in the air samples were identified and quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). PM was characterized using both an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) and a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) to cover a full range of emitted sizes. The compounds measured during popping and opening included butter flavoring components such as diacetyl, butyric acid, acetoin, propylene glycol, 2-nonanone, and triacetin and bag components such as p-xylene and perfluorinated alcohol 8:2 telomer. The greatest chemical quantity is emitted when the bag is opened post-popping; more than 80% of the total chemical emissions occur at this time.

Characterization of Curing Emissions from Conversion Varnishes.

Three commercially available conversion varnish coating "systems" (stain, sealer, and topcoat) were selected for an initial scoping study. The total volatile content of the catalyzed varnishes, as determined by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 24, ranged from 64 to 73 weight%. Uncombined (free) formaldehyde concentrations, determined by a sodium sulfite titration method, ranged from 0.15 to 0.58 weight% of the uncatalyzed varnishes. Each sealer and topcoat was also analyzed by gas chromatography (EPA Method 311). The primary volatile organic constituents included methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), isobutanol, n-butanol, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), toluene, ethylbenzene, the xylenes, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene.