A Compilation of Statistics for VOCs from Post‐1990 Indoor Air Concentration Studies in North American Residences Unaffected by Subsurface Vapor Intrusion

Abstract

AbstractThis paper provides a summary of a number of indoor air quality studies reporting concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air samples collected from residential properties in North America and provides average values for certain statistics (percentiles, detection frequency, maximum). This compilation includes several VOCs that are commonly assessed in studies of subsurface vapor intrusion to indoor air, but may also be attributable to consumer products, building materials, or even outdoor air (ambient) sources, specifically benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,1‐dichloroethane, 1,1‐dichloroethene, 1,2‐dichloroethane, cis and trans‐1,2‐dichloroethene, ethylbenzene, methyl tert‐butyl ether, methylene chloride, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, toluene, trichloro‐1,2,2‐trifluoroethane, 1,1,1‐trichloroethane, vinyl chloride, and meta, para, and ortho‐xylene. In studies spanning 1990 through 2005, eleven of these compounds were detected in more than 50% of samples collected, and for several compounds (benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, ethylbenzene, and tetrachloroethene) the lower and upper quintiles of the indoor air concentrations are within the range of typical risk‐based target levels. These summary statistics may help interpret data collected during a vapor intrusion investigation and communicate the findings of indoor air quality studies to building occupants and other stakeholders. Similar studies have been published in the past, but there has been a gradual change in indoor air quality over time and a large amount of new data has been collected, so this paper provides more relevant information for current use than previous compilations.