Occurrence of benzophenone-3 in indoor air from Albany, New York, USA, and its implications for inhalation exposure

Abstract

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is a widespread environmental contaminant and an estrogenic compound. Very little is known with regard to the occurrence in indoor air and the inhalation exposure of humans to BP-3. In this study, 81 indoor air samples were collected from various locations in Albany, New York, USA, in 2014 and analyzed for BP-3 by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). BP-3 was found in all indoor air samples and the overall concentrations in bulk air (vapor plus particulate phases) were in the range of 0.19–72.0ng/m3 (geometric mean: 2.67ng/m3). The highest concentrations (geometric mean: 10.7ng/m3) were found in cars, followed by barber shops (6.57) ˃ public places (5.75)>homes (3.27) ˃ offices (1.96) ˃ garages (1.04) ˃ laboratories (0.47). The estimated geometric mean daily intake (EDI) of BP-3 for infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, and adults through indoor air inhalation from homes was 1.83, 1.74, 1.18, 0.69, and 0.51ng/kg-bw/day, respectively. Although high concentrations of BP-3 were measured in some microenvironments, the estimated contribution of indoor air to total BP-3 intake was <5% of the total BP-3 intake in humans. This is the first survey on the occurrence of BP-3 in indoor air.