Comparison of volatile organic levels between sites and seasons for the total exposure assessment methodology (TEAM) study

Abstract

Comparisons were made between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath, personal air, fixed-site outdoor air and water samples from a probability (random) sample of individuals in Bayonne/Elizabeth, New Jersey; Los Angeles and Pittsburg/Antioch, California; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Devils Lake, North Dakota. In addition, comparisons were made between seasons in the Bayonne/Elizabeth and Los Angeles sites where the same individuals were sampled in two seasons. The most striking differences between sites and seasons were in outdoor air samples. For this medium the concentrations in Los Angeles in the winter season were much higher than in Bayonne/Elizabeth, New Jersey in the winter. However, in the summer season this difference was not evident due to a dramatic decrease in VOC levels in Los Angeles in the summer. Outdoor VOC levels in Greensboro and Devils Lake were usually dramatically lower than both Bayonne/Elizabeth and the California sites. Concentration levels for the breath and personal air samples were usually higher in the winter than the spring or summer. This was particularly true in Los Angeles for personal air samples. For the breath samples, this pattern was not clearcut and, in fact, Bayonne/Elizabeth tended to have higher concentrations in the summer. For water samples, Devils Lake had particularly low VOC levels. Bromoform, which was found in California samples, was almost never present in Bayonne/Elizabeth, Greensboro and Devils Lake samples.