Loh Miranda M, Houseman E Andres, Gray George M, Levy Jonathan I, Spengler John D, Bennett Deborah H
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 and University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2006 Nov 15;40(22):6903-11. doi: 10.1021/es060197g.
Individuals spend about 25% of their time in non-residential indoor microenvironments. For some of these microenvironments, particularly stores and restaurants, exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), have not been well characterized. In the Boston Exposure Assessment in Microenvironments (BEAM) study, sampling using scripted activities was conducted in stores, restaurants, and transportation in the summer of 2003 and winters of 2004 and 2005. A suite of VOCs including hydrocarbons, several chlorinated compounds, and aldehydes was analyzed. Nine store types were sampled using a composite design to enable a greater number of stores to be visited. Stores had higher concentrations of formaldehyde, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and styrene than other microenvironments, particularly in certain store types. Geometric mean formaldehyde levels were highest in the housewares stores, at 53 microg/m3 (95% CI = 43, 66). Geometric mean toluene levels were highest in multipurpose stores, at 76 microg/m3 (95% CI = 50, 118). The levels observed in stores were several times higherthan levels found in transportation microenvironments, and indicate strong indoor sources. In contrast, benzene did not have significantly higher levels in stores than typically found outdoors. Concentrations of formaldehyde and benzene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and styrene were strongly influenced by the presence of smoking in the dining microenvironment. Chloroform levels were higher in restaurants than in other microenvironments, with a geometric mean of 1.1 microg/m3 (95% CI = 0.7, 1.8). The VOC concentrations found in stores and restaurants in this study are a potentially important source of exposure for sensitive individuals or people who work in these microenvironments.
人们大约25%的时间处于非居住室内微环境中。对于其中一些微环境，尤其是商店和餐馆，挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的暴露情况尚未得到充分描述。在波士顿微环境暴露评估（BEAM）研究中，于2003年夏季以及2004年和2005年冬季，采用预设活动在商店、餐馆和交通场所进行了采样。分析了包括碳氢化合物、几种氯化化合物和醛类在内的一系列挥发性有机化合物。使用复合设计对九种商店类型进行了采样，以便能够走访更多的商店。与其他微环境相比，商店中的甲醛、甲苯、乙苯、二甲苯和苯乙烯浓度更高，尤其是在某些商店类型中。家居用品商店的几何平均甲醛水平最高，为53微克/立方米（95%置信区间 = 43, 66）。多功能商店的几何平均甲苯水平最高，为76微克/立方米（95%置信区间 = 50, 118）。商店中观察到的水平比交通微环境中发现的水平高出几倍，表明存在强烈的室内来源。相比之下，商店中的苯水平并不比通常在户外发现的水平显著更高。餐饮微环境中吸烟的存在对甲醛、苯、乙苯、二甲苯和苯乙烯的浓度有强烈影响。餐馆中的氯仿水平高于其他微环境，几何平均值为1.1微克/立方米（95%置信区间 = 0.7, 1.8）。本研究中在商店和餐馆中发现的挥发性有机化合物浓度对于敏感个体或在这些微环境中工作的人来说可能是一个重要的潜在暴露源。
