Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) has been linked to airway disease and early deaths. The ESQUISSE study of IAQ conducted by the French Research and Safety Institute (INRS), characterized the concentrations of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 10 retail stores and storage areas. The IAQ was generally better in sales areas than storage areas, which are more often unventilated and overloaded with new products. For example, in clothing stores, formaldehyde concentrations between 29.0 and 45.0 µg m−3 were measured in non-ventilated storage areas located in the basement; in sales areas, concentrations did not exceed 10.2 µg m−3. Similarly, total VOC (TVOC) concentrations in the two main storage areas were 1153 and 1223 µg m−3 toluene equivalent, whereas they were less than 77.0 µg m−3 toluene equivalent in all sales areas. Many employees work in these high-exposure areas either temporarily or for the entire day, unpacking boxes, placing products on shelves, or collecting products. Reporting primarily on formaldehyde, toluene, or TVOC concentrations, this article shows, in addition to the distinction between sales and storage areas, how an unpacking task can affect an employee’s exposure, and an example of the impact of ambient temperature on VOC concentrations. The results presented clearly highlight the issue of occupational exposure of workers in storage areas.
In retail stores, workers are constantly exposed to new manufactured goods. The issue of the exposure of retail workers to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) should clearly be considered. Therefore, this study provides data regarding VOC concentrations in ten French retail stores. The stores were chosen to represent various products: sports goods, shoes and leather, furniture, car equipment, bazaars, online-sales storage, clothes, books, DIY (do-it-yourself), and household appliances. VOCs and aldehydes were actively sampled on the same day in five to seven locations per building and outdoors. Toluene and formaldehyde were omnipresent with indoor concentrations reaching 252 and 53 µg/m 3 , respectively. The car equipment store, followed by clothing, shoes, and leather, and DIY stores showed the worst indoor air quality. High concentrations were measured, for example, the maximum α-pinene concentration in the furniture and DIY stores was 364 and 141 µg/m 3 , respectively, and the heptane concentration in the car equipment store reached 1,316 µg/m 3 . Two VOCs classified as toxic to reproduction were measured: hexane in the car equipment store and the bazaar, and dimethylformamide in the sports goods store. This study shows some disparities in the indoor concentrations among different locations in the same store, particularly between sales and storage areas.
Guiding to protect : Dune forest soils as evidence of the recent urban history of a coastal landscape -The Pointe de Gatseau at
Dans le but de connaître l'impact du chauffage domestique au bois sur la pollution atmosphérique, une étude, co-financée par l'ADEME, a été menée au CSTB de Nantes sur la caractérisation physico-chimique des fumées issues de la combustion de bûches de chêne dans des appareils indépendants, non raccordés à une installation de chauffage central. Afin d'être représentatif du parc de chauffage national, et de l'utilisation des foyers par les particuliers, deux appareils ont été étudiés : un foyer fermé classique muni de deux admissions d'air et un foyer encastrable type insert, labellisé « Flamme Verte 2004 ». Trois classes d'humidité ont été retenues ainsi que deux régimes de fonctionnement, nominal et réduit. Une analyse de l'influence de ces paramètres est présentée. Cet article précise entre autre, les facteurs d'émissions des principaux polluants, en g.kg-1 de bois sec brûlé : le monoxyde de carbone, entre 47 et 207, les hydrocarbures imbrûlés totaux, entre 0,7 et 12,2 et les poussières, entre 0,2 et 14,3. La présence de certains HAP a été mise en évidence autant sur la phase solide que sur la phase gazeuse des fumées. Les poussières émises ont été caractérisées d'un point de vue physico-chimique : composition élémentaire, mise en évidence de HAP et HAM , répartition granulométrique. Enfin, une corrélation entre les différents composés polluants est présentée ; elle permet de tenter de dégager un seul composé identifié comme indicateur de pollution potentiel : il s'agit du monoxyde de carbone. Même si comparée à d'autres combustible, tels que fuel ou gaz, l'utilisation du bois génère plus de composés imbrûlés : CO, HC, poussières, il reste néanmoins moins émetteur de SO x et NO x. Cette constatation ne doit pas conduire à une remise en cause de l'intérêt énergétique et environnemental du bois, mais au contraire, elle doit permettre d'une part aux industriels de la filière bois énergie de développer d'autres types d'appareils mieux adaptés au conditionnement de ce type d'énergie et d'autre part, aux utilisateurs de prendre conscience de bonnes pratiques.
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