Abstract
An optimized low volume sampler was developed to determine both gas- and particle bound concentrations of short and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (S/MCCPs). Background contamination was limited by the sampler design, providing method quantification limits (MQLs) at least two orders of magnitude lower than other studies within the gas (MQL: 500 pg (ΣSCCPs), 1.86 ng (ΣMCCPs)) and particle (MQL: 500 pg (ΣSCCPs), 1.72 ng (ΣMCCPs) phases. Good repeatability was observed between parallel indoor measurements (RSD ≤ 9.3% (gas), RSD ≤ 14% (particle)) with no breakthrough/saturation observed after a week of continuous sampling. For indoor air sampling, SCCPs were dominant within the gas phase (17 ± 4.9 ng/m3) compared to MCCPs (2.7 ± 0.8 ng/m3) while the opposite was observed in the particle bound fraction (0.28 ± 0.11 ng/m3 (ΣSCCPs) vs. 2.7 ± 1.0 ng/m3 (ΣMCCPs)). Only SCCPs in the gas phase could be detected reliably during outdoor sampling and were considerably lower compared to indoor concentrations (0.27 ± 0.10 ng/m3). Separation of the gas and particle bound phase was found to be crucial in applying the appropriate response factors for quantification based on the deconvoluted S/MCCP sample profile, thus avoiding over- (gas phase) or underestimation (particle phase) of reported concentrations. Very short chain chlorinated paraffins (vSCCPs, C5-C9) were also detected at equal or higher abundance compared to SCCP congener groups (C10-C13) congener groups, indicating an additional human indoor inhalation risk.
Highlights
Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) have emerged as a significant research area due to the growing recognition of the hazards they pose to both human and environmental health (Chen et al, 2019)
Greater exposure of MCCPs and LCCPs is expected as they replace Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) as alternative chemicals (Dick et al, 2010; Zeng et al, 2017). Based on their physical chemical properties, SCCPs and MCCPs can be emitted to air and remain in the gas and/or particle phase, posing a human inhalation risk, within indoor environments (Friden et al, 2011)
We describe the optimization of a simple but innovative low volume sampler design capable of conducting simultaneous measurements of CPs within the gas and particle phase fractions
Summary
Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) have emerged as a significant research area due to the growing recognition of the (potential) hazards they pose to both human and environmental health (Chen et al, 2019). The physicalchemical properties vary widely among the different congeners making them desirable for many applications (e.g., additives, paints, coatings, plasticizers and flame retardants) They can be classified according to their carbon chain length in short- (C10-C13), medium- (C14-C17) or long- (C!18) chain or degree of chlorination (30e70%) (van Mourik et al, 2015). Greater exposure of MCCPs and LCCPs is expected as they replace SCCPs as alternative chemicals (Dick et al, 2010; Zeng et al, 2017) Based on their physical chemical properties, SCCPs and MCCPs can be emitted to air and remain in the gas and/or particle phase, posing a human inhalation risk, within indoor environments (Friden et al, 2011). The developed sampler performance was assessed for both indoor and outdoor environments monitoring S/MCCPs to study congener group profiles between gas and particle phase exposure and improve upon data accuracy in reporting airborne concentrations
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