Changes in Flame Retardant and Legacy Contaminant Concentrations in Indoor Air during Building Construction, Furnishing, and Use
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.7b03245 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b03245 |
| Keywords | POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS; SEMIVOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS; GREAT-LAKES ATMOSPHERE; PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES; TROPICAL ATLANTIC-OCEAN; DECHLORANE PLUS; COMPOUNDS SVOCS; HUMAN EXPOSURE; SETTLED DUST; OUTDOOR AIR |
| Description | A newly constructed university building was selected for targeted assessment of changes in the levels of flame retardants and legacy contaminants during the installation of building equipment, furniture, electronics, and first year of building use. Indoor air samples were collected during several periods of intensive equipment installation to determine a relationship between newly introduced equipment and changes in the concentrations and profiles of contaminants in indoor air. Samples were analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs), and new types of flame retardants: brominated (BFRs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs). Additionally, typical outdoor contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were also analyzed for comparison. From the set of 90 compounds analyzed here, hexabromobenzene (HBB) and tris(2-chloroisopropyl)phosphate (TCIPP) showed a significant concentration increase in indoor air concentrations during computer installation and operation, suggesting emission by operating computers, while an order of magnitude concentration increase in tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCIPP) and tri-m-cresyl phosphate (TMTP) was observed after the furniture and carpet was introduced to the computer room, suggesting furniture or carpet as a source. However, the majority of compounds had no systematic change in concentrations during equipment installation, indicating that no sources of target compounds were introduced or, that source introduction was not reflected in indoor air concentrations. Generally, low levels of legacy flame retardants compared to their novel aternatives were observed. |
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