AN EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT STUDY OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) IN RESIDENTIAL INDOOR ENVIRONMENT USING THE CANADIAN HEALTH MEASURES SURVEY (CYCLE 2: 2009-2011) AND A MULTIPLE RECEPTORS BASED APPROACH

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) research in the residential indoor environment has focused on respiratory conditions; additional research is necessary to understand the effects on overall health. I analyzed the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) data Cycle 2 for indoor air exposure in children (3-11 years old) and youth-adults (12-79 years old) as stratified the age and location of the dwelling. I performed multivariate linear regressions to describe the variations in log-transformed total BTEX, chloroform, naphthalene and alpha-pinene in separate analyses. I performed small laboratory studies to optimize the use of thermal desorption tubes during indoor air research. Total BTEX concentrations were associated with dwelling characteristics: type, age, number of residents and mortgage. The concentrations of naphthalene and alpha-pinene were significantly associated with the presence of a child in the dwelling. The analysis of CHMS Cycle 2 dataset and the descriptive studies allowed for new insights into VOC exposures.