Seasonal fate and gas/particle partitioning of semi-volatile organic compounds in indoor and outdoor air

Abstract

Fifty-eight semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were investigated simultaneously in three indoor (apartment, nursery and office building) and one outdoor environment in the centre of Paris (France). All of these compounds except tetrabromobisphenol A were quantified in the gaseous and particulate phases in all three environments, and at a frequency of 100% for the predominant compounds of each SVOC class. Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were the most abundant group (di-iso-butyl phthalate: 29–661 ng m−3, diethyl phthalate: 15–542 ng m−3), followed by 4-nonylphenol (1.4–81 ng m−3), parabens (methylparaben: 0.03–2.5 ng m−3), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (0.002–0.26 ng m−3) and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) (0.001–0.23 ng m−3). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (as ∑8PAHs) ranged from 0.17 to 5.40 ng m−3, polychlorinated biphenyls (as ∑7PCBi) from 0.06 to 4.70 ng.m3 and polybromodiphenyl ethers (as ∑8PBDEs) from 0.002 to 0.40 ng m−3. For most pollutants, significantly higher concentrations were observed in the nursery compared to the apartment and office. Overall, the indoor air concentrations were up to ten times higher than outdoor air concentrations. Seasonal variations were observed for PAEs, PCBs and PAHs. SVOCs were predominantly identified in the gaseous phase (>90%), except for some high-molecular-weight PAEs, PAHs and PCBs.