An Environmental Chamber Study of the Characteristics of Air Pollutants Released from Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Bei Wang,Steven Sai Hang Ho,Kin Fai Ho,Chi Sing Chan,Yu Huang,Simon Ho Sai Ip,Natale Sin Yau Feng

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2011.11.0221

Abstract

Environment tobacco smoke (ETS) is an important source of anthropogenic pollution in indoor environments. This research reports an environmental chamber study of pollutants released from ETS generated by smoking cigarettes in the chamber. Six cigarettes samples sold in Hong Kong and China were characterized. Gaseous pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), methane (CH4), non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), carbonyls and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); and particulate matter (PM), including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and total carbon (TC), were determined using online and offline analytical methods during smoking and post-smoking periods. Acetaldehyde, acetone and formaldehyde were the three most abundant carbonyls. A total of 18 aromatic and chlorinated VOCs were quantified. Among these, benzene and toluene were the two most abundant VOCs. OC was more dominant (> 93% of TC) than EC. The amounts of tar and nicotine in the cigarettes could have a direct correlation with the PM emitted. Menthol, an additive in cigarettes, could also contribute to the ETS pollutants. The indoor ETS could be removed by a higher air exchange rate, which would also minimize secondary VOC formation.

Highlights

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consists of a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants produced from the sidestream and diluted exhaled mainstream smoke from the combustion of tobacco products (Guerin et al, 1992)
The concentrations produced by smoking the cigarette samples, except Cig B, exceeded the “Good Classes” criteria of 8.7 ppmv specified by Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD) as Indoor Air Quality Objectives (IAQO) for office buildings and public places (HKEPD, 2003)
The average carbon monoxide (CO) and total non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) concentrations produced when smoking the cigarettes with low-tar/nicotine content were 9.8 and 1.4 ppmv, respectively, which were again lower than the average concentrations of 12.5 and 1.8 ppmv, respectively, produced when smoking the regular cigarettes

Summary

Introduction

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consists of a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants produced from the sidestream and diluted exhaled mainstream smoke from the combustion of tobacco products (Guerin et al, 1992). Some air contaminants released due to tobacco smoke such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and nitrosamines could have carcinogenic effects on people (Lofroth et al, 1991; Li et al, 1993; Chao et al, 1998; Jenkins et al, 2000; Singer et al, 2003; Culea et al, 2005a, b; Gee et al, 2005a, b; Holcatova et al, 2005; Vainiotalo et al, 2008; Gu et al, 2010; Lai et al, 2010; Zhu et al, 2010; Hwang et al, 2011) Their emission factors have been determined in many studies (Daisey et al, 1998; Bi et al, 2005). The PM2.5 emission factors could range from 10 to 20 mg/cigarette smoked (Hildemann et al, 1991). Klepeis et al (2003) investigated size-specific emission factors for ETS particles and found that ETS could yield an average mass median diameter of 0.3 μm and the total particle emission rate was 0.2–0.7 mg/min per cigar smoked and 0.7–0.9 mg/min per cigarette smoked

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion