Emissions of Formamide and Ammonia from Foam Mats: Online Measurement Based on Dopant-Assisted Photoionization TOFMS and Assessment of Their Exposure for Children

Abstract

Formamide has been classified as a Class 1B reproductive toxicant to children by the European Union (EU) Chemicals Agency. Foam mats are a potential source of formamide and ammonia. Online dopant-assisted atmospheric pressure photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DA-APPI-TOFMS) coupled with a Teflon environmental chamber was developed to assess the exposure risk of formamide and ammonia from foam mats to children. High levels of formamide (average 3363.72 mg/m 3 ) and ammonia (average 1586.78 mg/m 3 ) emissions were measured from 21 foam mats with three different raw material types: ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA: n = 7), polyethylene (PE: n = 7), and cross-linked polyethylene (XPE: n = 7). The 28 day emission testing for the selected PE mat showed that the emissions of formamide were 2 orders of magnitude higher than the EU emission limit of 20 μg/m 3 , and formamide may be a permanent indoor contaminant for foam mat products during their life cycle. The exposure assessment of children aged 0.5−6 years showed that the exposure dose was approximately hundreds of mg/kg-day, and the age group of 0.5−2 years was subject to much higher dermal exposures than others. Thus, this study provided key relevant information for further studies on assessing children's exposure to indoor air pollution from foam mats.

Organophosphate Esters in Building Materials from China: Levels, Sources, Emissions, and Preliminary Assessment of Human Exposure

“…Then, the OPE concentrations in particle phase ( C P ), settled dust ( C D ), and indoor surface ( C S ) are calculated by eqs – ,, C P = K P · y · TSP = f normalo normalm _ particle · K oa · y · TSP ρ part C D = K D · y = f om _ dust · K oa · y ρ dust C S = K S · y · V indoor A indoor where K D is the partition coefficient of the OPEs between the gas phase and settled dust (m 3 /mg). K S is the ratio of the mass of the OPEs in the gaseous phase to that in the adsorbed phase, which was calculated from the microchamber emission experiment.…”

“…Here, A is the surface area of the source; Q is the ventilation rate (m 3 /h), which was estimated based on the ≥0.5 times/h of the air exchange rate of class I civil buildings provided in the GB 50325−2020; 41 TSP is the mass concentration of suspended particles (ng/m 3 ); and K p is the partition coefficient of OPEs between the gas phase and suspended particles (m 3 / ng); Then, the OPE concentrations in particle phase (C P ), settled dust (C D ), and indoor surface (C S ) are calculated by eqs 2−4 40,42,43…”

Screening and Evaluation of Children’s Sensitively Toxic Chemicals in New Mosquito Repellent Products Based on a Nationwide Investigation

“…Some of the synthetic musk were reported to induce the adverse effects in humans, e.g., endocrine-disrupting effects, hepatotoxicity, etc . The children were reported to be more sensitive to the same toxicant exposure than adults on body weight basis, , and therefore, despite the lack of a direct study, they were expected to face more severe danger to these additives than adults. Besides the identified toxic additives, most of other effective ingredients as mosquito repellents have not been well studied to avoid the cause of allergies or other diseases in children.…”

Pressure-Driven Switching of Photoelectron Impact Ionization-Chemical Ionization/Penning Ionization in Vacuum Ultraviolet Photoionization Mass Spectrometry

“…Vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry (VUV-PI MS) is a powerful analytical method due to its soft ionization property of organic species. VUV-PI MS has been successfully applied in diverse fields such as environmental exposure, food safety, and chemical processes. − Among the light sources applied in VUV-PI MS including VUV lamp-based light sources, − laser-based light sources, , and synchrotron radiation light sources, , low-pressure discharge lamps filled with different rare gases have attracted widespread interest due to their compactness and low cost, and the krypton (Kr) lamp has become one of the most commonly used light sources for single photoionization (SPI). − Unfortunately, the relatively low photon flux of the VUV Kr lamp restricted the sensitivity, and the detection of analytes with high ionization energy (IE) was challenging owing to the fixed photon energies of 10.0 and 10.6 eV.…”