United States Environmental Protection Agency Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Research and Development EPA/600/SR-92/025 April 1992 EPA Project Summary Indoor Air Quality Data Base for Organic Compounds Max M. Samfield A data base for concentrations of organic compounds measured indoors has been compiled. Based on a review of the literature from 1979 through 1990, the data base contains information on over 220 compounds ranging in mo- lecular weight from 30 to 446. The compounds are arranged in order of increasing number of carbon atoms, - from 1 to 31. The data base contains: the number of carbon atoms; the name of the compound; its empirical formula; its molecular weight; the odor thresh- old (when available); the minimum, maximum, median, and mean concen- trations; the standard deviation; the ref- erence number; the sampling time; and the type of building. All concentration data are given in micrograms per cubic meter. The following compounds were the most frequently reported: formal- dehyde, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,1- trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, ben- zene, p-dichlorobenzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, decane, and undecane. About 50% of the reported compounds contained 9 carbon atoms or fewer, and 90% had 23 carbon at- oms or fewer. Sampling times for the pollutants varied from as little as 15 minutes to as long as 2 weeks. Grab sampling, real time sampling, and inte- grated sampling methods were used. Odor thresholds for the pollutants re- ported were, in general, three to five orders of magnitude higher than the measured concentrations. This Project Summary was developed by EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory, Research Tri- angle Park, NC, to announce key find- Ings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back). Introduction Many pollutants found in ambient air are present to a larger extent in indoor air. Thus, indoor air might present problems with regard to potential health effects. Since most of the efforts directed toward ambient air analysis were with respect to the criteria, pollutants, it was natural that these pollutants would be the first to be studied in indoor air. In indoor air, such pollutants as carbon dioxide, carbon mon- oxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate mat- ter have been studied extensively. Of the organic compounds, particularly the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), only formaldehyde has been studied ex- tensively in indoor air. Yet many sources of organic compounds in indoor air have their origins in commonly used materials. Such materials include caulking com- pounds, hair sprays, rug cleaners, and paints and varnishes. In addition, building materials and interior furnishings (such as furniture, floor tile, draperies, and rugs) may be sources of organic compounds. This report provides hard copy of a data base of indoor concentrations of vapor- phase organic compounds based on a review of the literature through 1990. Disks containing the data are not available. Data Base Description Appendix A of the report presents the data base (see the example in Table 1). It contains approximately 220 organic com- pounds ranging from 1 - to 31 -carbon atom Feinted on Recycled Paper ------- Tabla 1. Example from IAQ Data Base c 2 2 Compound Acetaldebyde Ethanol Formula C2H40 C2H60 Mol. Wt. 44 46 Odor Hfl/rti3 Mm. 1,980 20 93,000 2.070 + 05 Meas. Cone, fag/m3) Max. Median 48 767 1374 408 Mean S.D. 17 2.1 , Ref. 1 24 3 3 3 Time h 4-7D 8 0.25-3 0.25-3 0.25-3 Bldg. Type R,A OB R R R 2 N-Nltroso-Dimethytamino C2H6N20 74 0.33 0.17 AU 3 Propane C3H8 44 1.80e + 06 42 0.25-3 3 Isopropanol (Propanol-2) C3H80 60 3 Acetone (Propanone) C3H60 58 3 Lactic Acid C3H603 90 90,000 14.8 7.70e + 05 2.12e + 05 47,500 28.8 1.60e + 05 140 258 80 137 157 67 1.8 0.6 3 3 3 6.9 24 37 39 1 7.5 24 37 10 10 0.25 - 3 0.25 - 3 0.25-3 8 4-7D 8 R R R OB OB R,A OB OB OB OB compounds. These compounds range in molecular weight from 30 to 446. The compounds are arranged in order of in- creasing number of carbon atoms. The data are taken from the references listed In Appendix C. Reference numbers are listed In the column labeled REF in the data base. The odor threshold values in the fifth column of the primary data base were taken from several references. In cases where several odor threshold values are given for tho same compound, the values may differ by as much as an order of magnitude. This should not be surprising In view of the subjective judgement re- quired in such tests. Also, different inves- tigators used different test methods, and the number of subjects involved varied considerably. In some cases, impurities in the test materials may have altered the results. Minimum, maximum, median, and/or mean concentrations (in micrograms per cubic meter) are presented in the appro- priate columns. Where compounds were identified but not quantified, all the col- umns are blank. In most cases, decimal notation is used; for very large and very small numbers, scientific notation is used. The standard deviations of the data are also given, when available. The column labeled TIME (second from last column) is the sampling time in hours, except where otherwise indicated. In this column, a "D" indicates the time in days and a "W indicates weeks. In the column labeled BLDG. TYPE, the type of building investigated is given as follows: A = Apartment, AU = Automobile, CB = Commercial Building, H = Hospital, MH = Mobile Home, NH = Nursing Home, OB = Office Building, R = Residence, S = School, and V = Various types of build- ings. Appendix B of the report contains infor- mation on "Sources of Indoor Organic Compounds" (see the example in Table 2). It lists substantiated and possible sources for most of the indoor pollutants contained in the data base. The informa- tion in Appendix B should be used with some caution, because the composition of materials and products changes over time as manufacturers alter their manu- facturing processes and products. Observations A review of the data shows concentra- tions of pollutants ranging from below the quantification level to more than 80,000 ug/m3. There is a paucity of data on the standard deviation of concentration val- ues reported in the literature. It is impor- tant for users of the data to know the standard deviation in order to know how much confidence to place in the reported values. Other than listing the standard deviation, when reported, this report makes no effort to judge the quality of the data. To do this, the reader should obtain a copy of the reference and use his or her own judgement. About 50% of the compounds listed con- tained 9 carbon atoms or fewer; about 90% had 23 carbon atoms or fewer. The following compounds were the most frequently reported: formaldehyde, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,1 -trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, benzene, p-dichloroben- zene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, de- cane, and undecane. Sampling times for the pollutants varied widely, from as little as 15 minutes to as long as 2 weeks. Grab sampling, real time sampling, and integrated sampling were used. Odor thresholds for the pollutants were, in general, three to five orders of magni- tude higher than the concentrations actu- ally measured. One cannot, therefore, expect to detect the presence of a pollut- ant through odor alone. ------- Table 2. Example from Source Data Base Compound Formula Substantiated Sources Possible Sources 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 Ethanol N-Nitroso-Dimethylamine Propane Isopropanol Acetone (Propanone) Lactic Acid PyruvicAcid 1, 2 - Dichloropropane Dibromochloropropane Ethylacetate C2H60 C2H6N20 C3H8 C3H80 C3H60 C3H603 C3H403 C3H6C12 C3H5Br2CI C4H802 fiberboard auto interior furnishings auto exhaust particle board lacquer solvent, auto exhaust linoleum floor covering solvent, antifreeze, tobacco smoke gasoline fuel gas, refrigerant, tobacco smoke antifreeze, solvent for gums, shellac, essential oils, cosmetics tobacco smoke, Pharmaceuticals medicinal ointments? artificial fruit essences, solvent for 4 Butane C4H10 4 Isobutano C4H10 4 Diethylamine C4H11N 4 Dimethylacetamide C4H100N 4 N-Butylacetate C4H1002 4 l-Butylacetate C4H1002 4 1,4-Dioxane C4H802 4 N-Butanol C4H100 4 l-Butanol C4H100 4 Butanal C4H80 fuel, tobacco smoke fuel floor lacquer floor lacquer edge sealing molding tape, jointing compound, cement flagstone, linoleum floor covering, floor lacquer, architectural coating varnishes and lacquers, perfume, artificial leather resins, dyes, phamtaceuticals, synthetic rubber solvent for many otganic reactions solvent for many oils, waxes, dyes, cellulose acetate flavors, perfumes, industrial cleaners, paint removers tobacco smoke, plasticizers •&U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1992 - 648-080/40235 ------- M. Samfieid is a consultant. Bruce A. Tfchenor is the EPA Project Officer (see below). The complete report, entitled "Indoor Air Quality Data Base for Organic com- pounds'(Order No. PB92-158 468/AS; Cost: $19.00; subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone: 703-487-4650 Tha EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 United States Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Research Information Cincinnati, OH 45268 BULK RATE POSTAGE & FEES PAID EPA PERMIT No. G-35 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 EPA/600/SR-92/025 ------- |