Occurrence of Phthalates in Indoor Dust from Children's Facilities and Apartments in Seoul

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the levels in typical central borough of phthalate exposure by monitoring children's facilities (19 kindergartens and 21 elementary schools) and households (17 old apartments and 22 new apartments) via sampling indoor floor dust. A vacuum cleaner specifically prepared for sampling dust was attached to a filter of a vacuum cleaner dust collecting container. During the sample preparation process, containers made of glass were used and analysis was performed using GC-MSD. The mean concentration of DEHP was 412 mu g/g, DnBP was 24 mu g/g, and BBzP was 10 mu g/g dust. The indoor characteristics including floor, wall materials, years after construction, water leakage history for the past three years, and ventilation were also examined to categorize phthalate esters from the dust samples. From the flooring and wallpaper materials of kindergartens and elementary schools, DEHP in the dust sample appeared at a statistically significant level (p<0.05) when PVC materials were present. DEHP in the indoor dust also increased significantly (p<0.01) during the construction period. The daily intake of DEHP measured from indoor dust was 0.08 similar to 19.7 mu g/kg/ day for children and 0.02 similar to 1.1 mu g/kg/day for adults (women). The results clearly revealed that phthalate exposure is greater in children than in adults (women) due to the indoor dust.