A systematic review of evidence and implications of spatial and seasonal variations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in indoor human environments

Abstract

Many volatile organic compounds (VOC) are classified as known or possible human carcinogens, irritants, and toxicants, and VOC exposure has been associated with asthma and other respiratory symptoms/diseases. This review summarizes recent quantitative data regarding VOC in four categories of indoor environments (schools, housing, offices, and other indoor) and compares the types and concentration levels of individual VOC that were detected, measured, and reported according to season (cold and warm). The influence of outdoor air on concentrations of indoor VOC was also assessed as ratios of indoor versus outdoor. Papers published from 2000 onward were reviewed and 1383 potentially relevant studies were identified. From these, 177 were removed after duplication, 1176 were excluded for not meeting the review criteria, and 40 were included in this review. On average, higher mean concentrations of indoor VOC were found in housing environments, in offices, and in the cold season. Volatile organic compounds are commonly present in indoor air and specific compounds, and their concentrations vary among indoor environments and seasons, indicating corresponding differences in sources (indoors and outdoors). Actions and policies to reduce VOC exposures, such as improved product labeling and consumer education, are recommended.

Extracellular vesicles released in response to respiratory exposures: implications for chronic disease

“…While this makes lungs efficient for enabling gas exchange, it also makes pulmonary tissue highly vulnerable to airborne toxicants. Airborne toxicants may originate from personal exposures such as tobacco smoking , from occupational exposures including nanoparticles, asbestos, and volatile organic chemicals (Kermanizadeh et al 2016;Paciência et al 2016;Umbright et al 2017), and from environmental exposures such as particulate matter (PM) from outdoor air pollution (Chen and Yang 2018). Chronic exposure to respiratory toxicants increases markedly the risk of developing lung disease, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer (Bartal 2001;Kelly and Fussell 2015).…”

A cautionary note on the effects of laboratory air contaminants on ambient ionization mass spectrometry measurements

“…An important intersection of the increasing application of ambient ionization techniques is with the large body of research on indoor air quality. Indeed, indoor air has been reported to be rich in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of which can be readily ionized. For example, volatile polydimethylcyclosiloxanes present in ambient air have been measured as contaminants using nanoelectrospray analysis .…”

“…However, in an open‐air configuration, these background contaminants can be substantial, can vary with time and can participate in ionization. This affects both qualitative and quantitative identification of analyte species and may be especially severe in indoor air environments where concentrations can be more elevated than in outdoor air …”

“…29,43 An important intersection of the increasing application of ambient ionization techniques is with the large body of research on indoor air quality. Indeed, indoor air has been reported to be rich in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56] many of which can be readily ionized.…”

“…This affects both qualitative and quantitative identification of analyte species and may be especially severe in indoor air environments where concentrations can be more elevated than in outdoor air. [50][51][52][53]59 The effects of indoor air contaminants are addressed in this study using three ambient ionization techniques: EESI, DART and ionization by piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD) plasma. 60 These three different ionization techniques have important similarities that result in similar mass spectra for the same analytes.…”