Commercial Spray Products Research Articles

Behavioral characteristics to airborne particles generated from commercial spray products

Commercial spray products are commonly used in daily life and airborne particles generated by these products may cause adverse health effects. Our study was aimed to characterize the behaviors of airborne particles from spray products and to determine the deposition loss rate. Four categories of spray products with highly frequent use - air fresheners, fabric deodorants, window cleaners, and a bathroom cleaner - were selected for the study. The products were applied in a cleanroom according to the instructions for use. Airborne particles (10–10,000 nm) were measured within the breathing zone of a user with a scanning mobility particle sizer and an optical particle spectrometer. Additionally, filter sampling was performed to examine the morphological characteristics of the particles using a field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The initial concentration and particle size distribution varied among different spray types and products. Two propellant-type air fresheners that we tested showed a high initial concentration of smaller sized particles. However, one of these and all hand-pressure type propellants showed a low initial concentration in all size ranges. We observed that particles in nucleation mode (10–31.6 nm) decreased and aggregated particles shifted to accumulation mode (100–1,000 nm) over time. The FS-SEM analysis confirmed the aggregation of nano-sized particles for all products. The deposition loss rates of various particle sizes depended on the initial concentration and distribution of particle sizes. For two air fresheners with high initial concentrations, the loss rate of small-sized particles was higher than that of the other products whereas the particle loss rate of large-sized particles was higher, regardless of initial concentration. The results of this study can give us useful information in the behaviors of airborne particles in the consumer spray products and resulting exposure assessment especially in the application to the exposure modeling of spray products.

Low Concentration Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles in Consumer Spray Products

The lack of regulations regarding the manufacture of nanoparticle-containing products has enabled the release of many consumer products into the market with uncorroborated claims. Silver nanoparticles are commonly used in consumer goods, particularly in medical and household products. This study was designed to evaluate the aerosol exposure of silver nanoparticles from two consumer spray products currently on the market that claim to contain silver nanoparticles for antibacterial purposes. The study relies on our current understanding of various sampling and analytical methods to effectively evaluate aerosolized nanoparticles, particularly at low concentrations. To characterize low-concentration nanoparticles, various sophisticated sampling methods, including a NanoScan scanning mobility particle sizer, an optical particle sizer, an impinger, and diffusion samplers, were utilized to quantify, collect, and analyze the chemical compositions of the aerosolized products. Our results show that while both products aerosolize silver particles when sprayed, the emitted nanoparticles contain a low concentration of silver and vary in size and overall chemical composition. Further investigation of silver nanoparticle commercial spray products is needed to assess exposure risk and inform health professionals, industrial hygienists, and the general public regarding disparities in product marketing claims and nanoparticle aerosol exposure.

Online characterization of nano-aerosols released by commercial spray products using SMPS–ICPMS coupling

Nanoparticle-containing sprays are a critical class of consumer products, since human exposure may occur by inhalation of nanoparticles (NP) in the generated aerosols. In this work, the suspension and the released aerosol of six different commercially available consumer spray products were analyzed. Next to a broad spectrum of analytical methods for the characterization of the suspension, a standardized setup for the analysis of aerosol has been used. In addition, a new online coupling technique (SMPS–ICPMS) for the simultaneous analysis of particle size and elemental composition of aerosol particles has been applied. Results obtained with this new method were confirmed by other well-established techniques. Comparison of particles in the original suspensions and in the generated aerosol showed that during spraying single particles of size less than 20 nm had been formed, even though in none of the suspensions particles of size less than 280 nm were present (Aerosol size range scanned: 7–300 nm). Both pump sprays and propellant gas sprays were analyzed and both released particles in the nm size range. Also, both water-based and organic solvent-based sprays released NP. However, a trend was observed that spraying an aqueous suspension contained in a pump spray dispenser after drying resulted in bigger agglomerates than spraying organic suspensions in propellant gas dispensers.

Emission characteristics of VOCs emitted from consumer and commercial products and their ozone formation potential.

The characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from several consumer and commercial products (body wash, dishwashing detergent, air freshener, windshield washer fluid, lubricant, hair spray, and insecticide) were studied and compared. The spray products were found to emit the highest amount of VOCs (~96 wt%). In contrast, the body wash products showed the lowest VOC contents (~1.6 wt%). In the spray products, 21.6-96.4 % of the VOCs were propane, iso-butane, and n-butane, which are the components of liquefied petroleum gas. Monoterpene (C10H16) was the dominant component of the VOCs in the non-spray products (e.g., body wash, 53-88 %). In particular, methanol was present with the highest amount of VOCs in windshield washer fluid products. In terms of the number of carbon, the windshield washer fluids, lubricants, insecticides, and hair sprays comprised >95 % of the VOCs in the range C2-C5. The VOCs in the range C6-C10 were predominantly found in the body wash products. The dishwashing detergents and air fresheners contained diverse VOCs from C2 to C11. Besides comprising hazardous VOCs, VOCs from consumer products were also ozone precursors. The ozone formation potential of the consumer and commercial spray products was estimated to be higher than those of liquid and gel materials. In particular, the hair sprays showed the highest ozone formation potential.