| Title: | Total OH Reactivity of Emissions from Humans: In Situ Measurement and Budget Analysis |
| Author(s): | Wang N; Zannoni N; Ernle L; Beko G; Wargocki P; Li M; Weschler CJ; Williams J; |
| Address: | "Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany. International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby 2800, Denmark. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States. The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia 2121, Cyprus" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1520-5851 (Electronic) 0013-936X (Print) 0013-936X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Humans are a potent, mobile source of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments. Such direct anthropogenic emissions are gaining importance, as those from furnishings and building materials have become better regulated and energy efficient homes may reduce ventilation. While previous studies have characterized human emissions in indoor environments, the question remains whether VOCs remain unidentified by current measuring techniques. In this study conducted in a climate chamber occupied by four people, the total OH reactivity of air was quantified, together with multiple VOCs measured by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) and fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (fast-GC-MS). Whole-body, breath, and dermal emissions were assessed. The comparison of directly measured OH reactivity and that of the summed reactivity of individually measured species revealed no significant shortfall. Ozone exposure (37 ppb) was found to have little influence on breath OH reactivity but enhanced dermal OH reactivity significantly. Without ozone, the whole-body OH reactivity was dominated by breath emissions, mostly isoprene (76%). With ozone present, OH reactivity nearly doubled, with the increase being mainly caused by dermal emissions of mostly carbonyl compounds (57%). No significant difference in total OH reactivity was observed for different age groups (teenagers/young adults/seniors) without ozone. With ozone present, the total OH reactivity decreased slightly with increasing age" |
| Keywords: | Adolescent *Air Pollutants/analysis Climate Construction Materials Environmental Monitoring Humans *Ozone Ventilation *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Young Adult; |
| Notes: | "MedlineWang, Nijing Zannoni, Nora Ernle, Lisa Beko, Gabriel Wargocki, Pawel Li, Mengze Weschler, Charles J Williams, Jonathan eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2020/12/10 Environ Sci Technol. 2021 Jan 5; 55(1):149-159. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c04206. Epub 2020 Dec 9" |
