Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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Exposure Assessment of Phthalates from House Dust and Organic Films in the Indoor Environment

실내환경 중 집먼지 및 유기필름에서 기인한 프탈레이트 노출평가

  • Joen, Jeong-In (Department of Nano & Biological Engineering, Seokyeong University) ;
  • Lee, Hye-Won (Institute of Risk Assessment, Seokyeong University) ;
  • Lee, Seung-Hyun (Department of Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Seokyeong University) ;
  • Lee, Jeong-Il (Climate Change Action Center, Korea Testing & Research Institute) ;
  • Lee, Cheol-Min (Department of Nano Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seokyeong University)
  • 전정인 (서경대학교 나노생명공학과) ;
  • 이혜원 (서경대학교 위해성평가연구소) ;
  • 이승현 (서경대학교 환경화학공학과) ;
  • 이정일 (한국화학융합시험연구원 건축기후대응센터) ;
  • 이철민 (서경대학교 나노화학생명공학과)
  • Received : 2022.03.01
  • Accepted : 2022.04.01
  • Published : 2022.04.30
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Abstract

Background: Various types of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) exist in the public's living environment. They occur in different forms in terms of their physical and chemical properties and partition coefficients. As a consequence, indoor exposure to SVOCs occurs via various routes, including inhalation of air and airborne particles, skin contact, and dust intake. Objectives: To propose a method for assessing human exposure to the SVOCs occurring in the air of an indoor environment, the concentrations of SVOCs in house dust and organic films measured in a real residential environment were estimated in terms of gas-phase concentration using the partition coefficient. Assessment of inhalation exposure to SVOCs was performed using this method. Methods: Phthalates were collected from samples of house dust and organic films from 110 households in a real residential environment. To perform an exposures assessment of the phthalates present in organic films, gas-phase concentration was calculated using the partition coefficient. The airborne gas-phase concentrations of phthalates from the house dust and organic films were estimated and exposure assessment was performed based on the assumption of inhalation exposure from air. Results: As a result of the exposure assessment for gas-phase phthalates from house dust and organic films, preschool children showed the highest level of inhalation of phthalates, followed by school children, adults, and adolescents. Conclusions: This study includes the limitation of not considering different SVOCs exposure pathways in the health impact assessment, including those of phthalates in the indoor living environment. However, this study has the significance of performing exposure assessment based on exposure to SVOCs present in indoor air that originated from organic films in the indoor residential environment. Therefore, the results of this study should be useful as basic data for exposure and health risk assessments of SVOCs associated with organic films in the indoor environment.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

본 연구는 환경부의 재원으로 한국환경산업기술원의 생활화학제품 안전관리 기술개발사업(No. 2020002970006)의 지원을 받아 연구되었으며 이에 감사드립니다. 본 연구는 2021년도 환경부 주관 「화학물질 안전관리 전문인력 양성사업」의 화학물질 특성화대학원 지원 사업을 통한 성과물임을 밝힙니다.

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