An Assessment of Indoor Air Quality before, during and after Unrestricted Use of E-Cigarettes in a Small Room

Abstract

Airborne chemicals in the indoor environment arise from a wide variety of sources such as burning fuels and cooking, construction materials and furniture, environmental tobacco smoke as well as outdoor sources. To understand the contribution of exhaled e-cigarette aerosol to the pre-existing chemicals in the ambient air, an indoor air quality study was conducted to measure volatile organic compounds (including nicotine and low molecular weight carbonyls), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, tobacco-specific nitrosamines and trace metal levels in the air before, during and after e-cigarette use in a typical small office meeting room. Measurements were compared with human Health Criteria Values, such as indoor air quality guidelines or workplace exposure limits where established, to provide a context for potential bystander exposures. In this study, the data suggest that any additional chemicals present in indoor air from the exhaled e-cigarette aerosol, are unlikely to present an air quality issue to bystanders at the levels measured when compared to the regulatory standards that are used for workplaces or general indoor air quality.

A systematic review of the health risks from passive exposure to electronic cigarette vapour

“…14,15,18,19,[22][23][24][25]27,29 Two studies did not comment on the passive exposure risk 16,17 , and four concluded that their investigation showed no risk to bystanders. 20,21,26,28 It is noted that those studies undertaken by tobacco employees or funded by the National Vapers Club concluded no apparent risk from ECs to bystanders. Those who did not declare a conflict of interest were more likely to draw conclusions that were more precautionary and/or suggested a potential risk from passive exposure to ECs, highlighting potential biases in the current literature.…”

“…When examining the absolute impact from passive exposure to EC vapour -that is, comparing EC vapour with background levels -EC vapour contains elevated levels of nicotine 19,20,24 , PM 19,22,24,25,29 , glycerine 20,24 , propylene glycol 21,24 , formaldehyde and acetaldehyde 21 , PAHs and metals. 24 These studies demonstrate that EC vapours can contain harmful chemicals and have an impact on indoor air quality.…”

“…Studies examining the composition of EC vapour or some of its aspects found that ECs are not emission-free. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][27][28][29] The majority of studies concluded that passive exposure to EC vapour may pose a health risk to bystanders. 14,15,18,19,[22][23][24][25]27,29 Two studies did not comment on the passive exposure risk 16,17 , and four concluded that their investigation showed no risk to bystanders.…”

“…O'Connell et al 21 measured a wide range of chemical elements and compounds in the ambient air of a room with three active EC users and two nonsmokers. The authors found that only some chemicals had detectable levels, and all were within indoor air quality guidelines.…”

Richtwert für Propan-1,2-diol (Propylenglykol) in der Innenraumluft

“…Schober et al (2014) [36] fanden in einem Büroraum unter üblichen Lüftungsbedingungen während 6 jeweils zweistündiger Rauchsitzungen PG-Gehalte von 110-395 µg/m³; ohne das Rauchen von E-Zigaretten lagen die PG-Gehalte unter 0,04 µg/m³. In einem kleinen Besprechungsraum, in dem 3 Personen über 165 Minuten E-Zigaretten dampften, wurde in diesem Zeitraum ein Gehalt von 204 µg PG/m³ in der Innenraumluft gemessen, während vor der Rauchsitzung nur Konzentrationen von <0,5 µg/m³ beobachtet wurden [31]. Beim Verdampfen von PG aus E-Zigaretten liegt PG als Aerosol in der Innenraumluft vor, wobei das Maximum von Partikeln Durchmesser zwischen 20-30 nm aufweist [36,37].…”