VOC exposures in California early childhood education environments

Abstract

Little information exists about exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in early childhood education (ECE) environments. We measured 38 VOCs in single-day air samples collected in 2010-2011 from 34 ECE facilities serving California children and evaluated potential health risks. We also examined unknown peaks in the GC/MS chromatographs for indoor samples and identified 119 of these compounds using mass spectral libraries. VOCs found in cleaning and personal care products had the highest indoor concentrations (d-limonene and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane [D5] medians: 33.1 and 51.4 μg/m³, respectively). If reflective of long-term averages, child exposures to benzene, chloroform, ethylbenzene, and naphthalene exceeded age-adjusted "safe harbor levels" based on California's Proposition 65 guidelines (10 lifetime cancer risk) in 71%, 38%, 56%, and 97% of facilities, respectively. For VOCs without health benchmarks, we used information from toxicological databases and quantitative structure-activity relationship models to assess potential health concerns and identified 12 VOCs that warrant additional evaluation, including a number of terpenes and fragrance compounds. While VOC levels in ECE facilities resemble those in school and home environments, mitigation strategies are warranted to reduce exposures. More research is needed to identify sources and health risks of many VOCs and to support outreach to improve air quality in ECE facilities.

International prevalence of fragrance sensitivity

“…As studies have shown, fragranced consumer products can be primary sources of human exposure to potentially hazardous compounds (Hoang et al 2017;Gokhale et al 2008; 3.02 × 10 7 1.12 × 10 6 2.23 × 10 6 4.01 × 10 5 3.39 × 10 7 Lost workdays (8-h equivalents) due to fragranced product exposure 1.87 × 10 8 6.42 × 10 7 1.14 × 10 7 1.79 × 10 6 2.07 × 10 8…”

Do we know how best to disinfect child care sites in the United States? A review of available disinfectant efficacy data and health risks of the major disinfectant classes

“…The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has recommended an exposure level of 9.78 mg/m 3 for a short-term exposure limit of 60 minutes for adults in an occupational setting. A recent article on child care settings 53 used the California Prop 65 no significant risk level for adults and calculated a suggested no significant risk level for infants based on body weight and time spent in care settings of 0.4 mg/d, a level quickly exceeded if air levels after disinfecting approached those in the Odabasi study. 52 Lower level long-term exposure to bleach is now recognized as another cause of respiratory effects.…”

Real-time measurements of formaldehyde emissions in a gross anatomy laboratory

“…Much higher levels are found in a gross anatomy laboratory [29,48]; 8-h average and maximum formaldehyde levels are about 0.7 and 3 ppm, respectively [42]. Another toxic gas present in a gross anatomy laboratory is phenol [22,46], which is not only present in the embalming fluid but it is released in the early stages of human body decomposition [53]. Both NIOSH and OSHA established 5 ppm as an 8-h TLV.…”