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Deposited Particulate Matter from Cigarette Smoke Is a Major, Dynamic, and Chemically-Diverse Reservoir of Thirdhand Smoke
ROGER SHEU, Tori Hass-Mitchell, Akima Ringsdorf, Achim Edtbauer, Thomas Klüpfel, Jonathan Williams, Drew Gentner, Yale University
Abstract Number: 381
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract
Thirdhand smoke (THS) refers to the contamination and subsequent off-gassing of hazardous organic compounds following smoke exposure. Recently, thirdhand smoke, comprised of nicotine and other known co-emitted hazardous (e.g. carcinogenic) compounds, was shown to be transported by previously-exposed people into clean, non-smoking environments via unexplored reservoirs and processes. For the first time, through laboratory experiments simultaneously employing detailed online and offline high-resolution mass spectrometry, we expand the volatility and functionality range of identified gas- and aerosol-phase compounds in smoke and particulate matter (PM). We demonstrate that primary PM is a substantial, long-lasting, and chemically diverse reservoir for reactive volatile, intermediate volatility, and semi-volatile organic compounds. PM can deposit onto common indoor (e.g. clothes, furnishings, building interiors) and human (e.g. skin, hair, airways) surfaces, where they can off-gas appreciable amounts over long timescales (e.g. over three days in this study). This work showcases a major underlying repository for THS, along with associated mechanisms for persistent THS contamination and transport, which act alongside adsorption and desorption of gases by clothing, furnishings, and other surfaces. In non-smoking environments, the off-gassed compounds will be available to partition to other surfaces or other indoor particles, increasing their persistence and pathways for human exposure. The results and analysis from tobacco smoke are applicable to similar organic aerosol sources (e.g. biomass burning and cooking), and the methods demonstrated can be applied to other dynamic gas-phase complex mixtures.