Volatile organic compounds in children's bedrooms, Shanghai, China: Sources and influential factors

Abstract

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the residential environment may cause harm to children's health. During 2013–2014, we collected air samples from 358 children's bedrooms in Shanghai, China, to quantify indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) levels, and investigate the influential factors and the sources of indoor VOCs. This study analyzed tested and analyzed all the collected air samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Twelve kinds of VOCs were found, and the most abundant VOCs in terms of median concentration was dodecane, followed by toluene and hexadecane. This study further analyzed three influential factors on the concentration of VOCs: building materials (floor and wall covering materials), household chemical products, and ambient exposures (traffic exposure, shopping center exposure, industrial area exposure, and river/lake exposure). Most of the VOCs concentrations were mainly dominated by indoor sources or the combination of indoor and outdoor sources. Indoor VOCs concentrations were positively associated with oil painting wall covering used in children's bedrooms, frequently usage of household chemical products, and ambient traffic exposure. The rank of the significant influential factors of indoor VOCs concentrations was obtained through the stratification analysis combined with the elimination and disturbance methods. Principal component analysis was used to identify potential sources of indoor VOCs, and four main factors in children's bedrooms were generated, including household chemical products, building materials, vehicle-related emissions, and organic solvents. This study can be used to control and manage the levels of VOCs in residential environments.