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Measurements of Particle Phase (PM2.5) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Indoor Air
NAOMI CHANG, Jiaqi Zhou, Karsten Baumann, Zhenfa Zhang, Wanda Bodnar, Glenn Morrison, Barbara Turpin, UNC-Chapel Hill
Abstract Number: 100
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in heat-, stain-, and water-resistant products widely used indoors. Exposure to PFAS is associated with adverse health effects like hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and thyroid disease. While ingestion is a dominant route of exposure for some PFAS, it is also important to understand the degree to which inhalation of indoor PFAS on respirable particulate matter (PM2.5) may contribute to exposure. We measured particulate PFAS air concentrations in 3 homes and 1 university building under normal operation and in 3 offices and 1 classroom during high-pressure, high-temperature professional carpet cleaning. Window wipe samples were collected in 1 home. Air sampling intervals ranged from 4 hours to 7 days at 12 L/min on a quartz fiber filter downstream of a multi-jet 2.5 μm cut-point impactor. Samples were quantified by AB SCIEX Triple Quad™ 6500 LC/MS for 34 targeted PFAS with authentic mass-labeled standards. Eight PFAS were detected during carpet cleaning with the highest concentrations of PFOA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFDS, and PFDoA (123.4 pg/m3, 48.2 pg/m3, 31.6 pg/m3, 52.8 pg/m3, 8.4 pg/m3, respectively) found in the classroom, which was cleaned with the highest pressure and temperature device. One office contained PFTrA (5.9 pg/m3) and PFNA (4.9 pg/m3) and two offices contained PFUnA (1.4 pg/m3 and 3.2 pg/m3). Only the classroom contained PFDS. PFOA was detected in all homes (max 4.6 pg/m3), PFHxA (8.1 pg/m3) in 1 home, and PFDA (1.7 pg/m3) in another. At least 6 PFAS were detected in each window wipe sample with PFOA, PFDA, PFDoA, PFTrA, and PFTA detected in all. The variation in PFAS between rooms and homes reflects the diversity of indoor sources of PFAS. Results suggest that carpet cleaning bears a potential occupational exposure health risk for maintenance workers. Notably, PFOA was commonly found despite U.S. production being halted around 2002.