CHARACTERIZATION OF VOC EXPOSURES AND RISK IN NON-RESIDENTIAL MICROENVIRONMENTS

摘要

Concentrations of VOCs have been sparsely studied in non-residential microenvironments. As part of the Boston Exposure Assessment in Microenvironments (BEAM) study, sampling using scripted activities was conducted in shopping microenvironments in the summer of 2003 and winter of 2004. A suite of VOC's including benzene,toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and aldehydes were collected. Shopping microenvironments were sampled using a composite design to increase the number of stores measured without increasing sampling costs. The highest geometric mean benzene concentration, 2.5 μg/m3 was found in stores selling house wares while the lowest was in electronics stores, 1.1 μg/m3. Mean formaldehyde levels were also highest in the house wares stores, at 49.6 μg/m3. Mean toluene levels were highest in multipurpose stores, at 67.2 μg/m3.