Long-Term Trend of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds – a 15-Year Follow-Up Considering Real Living Conditions

Indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may be associated with adverse health effects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the indoor VOCs exposure burden has undergone changes during a past 15-year period, exemplarily in a German city. The study was limited to homes with families. To avoid possible regional-specific confounder effects, this assessment was conducted for this urban centre with a sufficiently long and continuous time series (1994–2008). VOCs were determined using passive sampling over 4 weeks followed by liquid extraction and analysis with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. All measurement periods were equally distributed over the seasons and years. A substantial reduction in the total sum of VOCs and aromatics could be demonstrated as well as a trend of decrease concentrations for alkanes. No such changes could be observed for cycloalkanes, chlorinated hydrocarbons and terpenes group. Possible reasons for the reduction of indoor VOCs exposure are most likely due to the applied regulations/guidelines for the VOCs reduction in indoor-relevant products. Problems are, however, regarding the slight increase in terpene exposure. These chemicals have been found to be associated with quite specific health effects. Therefore, future emphasis should be directed not only towards the general reduction of anthropogenically generated VOC exposures in the outdoor environment but also on the reduction of health-relevant VOCs, especially indoors.

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