| 1. |
- Claeson, Anna-Sara, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects on perceived air quality and symptoms of exposure to microbially produced metabolites and compounds emitted from damp building materials
- 2009
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Ingår i: Indoor Air. - : The Authors Journal compilation. - 0905-6947 .- 1600-0668. ; 19:2, s. 102-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This work investigated perceived air quality and health effects fromexposure to low to high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emittedfrom damp building materials and a mixture of molds growing on the materials.A mixture of Wallemia sebi, Fusarium culmorum, Penicillium chrysogenum,Ulocladium botrytis, and Aspergillus versicolor was inoculated on pine wood andparticle board. In Study 1, each of 27 participants took part in two exposureconditions, one with air from molds growing on building materials (low levels ofemissions from the building materials and the mold mixture) and one with blankair, both conditions during 60 min. In Study 2, each of 24 participants wasexposed (10 min) four times in a 2 · 2 design randomly to air from moldybuilding materials (high levels) and blank, with and without nose-clip. Theparticipants rated air quality and symptoms before, during, and after eachexposure. Self-reported tear-film break-up time and attention and processingspeed (Study 1) was also measured. Exposure to high VOC levels increased thereports of perceived poor air quality, and in the condition without nose-clipenhanced skin symptoms were also noted. No such outcome was observed whenexposing the participants to low VOC levels.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Claeson, Anna-Sara, 1974-
(författare)
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Volatile organic compounds from microorganisms : identification and health effects
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Damp building materials are subjected to degradation processes due to moisture and also microbial growth, with both of these giving rise to emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may contribute to indoor air health problems. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate emissions of reactive and non-reactive VOCs from damp building materials and from the microorganisms growing on them, and also to investigate the possible health impact of these compounds. Three studies were carried out in order to study emissions of VOCs. The first investigated emissions from a mixture of five fungi (Aspergillus versicolor, Fusarium culmorum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Ulocladium botrytis and Wallemia sebi) and the second emissions from the bacterium Streptomyces albidoflavus. In both studies the microorganisms were cultivated on three different building materials (pine wood, particle board and gypsum board) and one synthetic media, MEA and TGEA respectively. The bacterium was also cultivated on sand. Air samples from the cultures were collected on six different adsorbents and chemosorbents to sample a wide range of compounds such as VOCs, aldehydes, amines and light-weight organic acids. The samples were analyzed with gas chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography and ion chromatography. Mass spectrometry was used for identification of the compounds. Alcohols and ketones were the predominant compound groups identified. The bacterial culture growing on TGEA emitted ammonia, methylamine, diethylamine and ethylamine. The third study dealt with secondary emissions collected from buildings with moisture and mould problems. Samples were taken when the materials were dry and also after they had been wet for a week. Most alcohols and ketones could be identified from the wet materials. Trimethylamine and triethylamine, were identified from sand contaminated by Bacillus. One study looked at the development of a method for analysis of primary and secondary amines with LC-MS/MS. A three-step process was developed, with the first step screening the samples for NIT derivatives with selected reaction monitoring, SRM. In the second step a precursor ion scan gave the [M+H]+ ion, and the last step involved fragmentation with a product ion scan. It was possible to separate and identify all the investigated amines, which showed that the method was both specific and selective and therefore well suited for the analysis of amines in complex environments. The last study comprised two exposure studies. In study 1 each participant took part in two exposure conditions, one with air from mouldy building materials and one with blank air for a 60 minute period. In study 2 each participant was exposed four times (for a period of 10 min) at random to air from mouldy building materials and blank air, with and without nose-clip. The participants rated air quality and symptoms before, during and after each exposure. Exposure to moderate VOC levels resulted in reports of perceived poor air quality, but no such results were received when exposing the participants to low VOC levels.
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| 4. |
- Claeson, Anna-Sara, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from materials collected from buildings affected by microorganisms
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Monitoring. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1464-0325 .- 1464-0333. ; 9:3, s. 240-245
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study mould damaged materials, including carpet, concrete, gypsum board, insulation, plastic, sand and wood, from 20 different buildings with moisture problems were collected. To study emissions from these materials both conventional methods for sampling, such as collection on Tenax TA, were used as well as complementary methods for sampling a wider spectrum of compounds, such as more volatile VOCs, amines and aldehydes. Analysis was carried out using gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Mass spectrometry was used for identification of compounds. Alcohols and ketones were almost exclusively emitted from the materials after they had been wet for a week. Acids were also emitted in large quantities from wet gypsum board and plastic. No primary or secondary amines could be identified, but two tertiary amines, trimethylamine and triethylamine, were emitted from sand contaminated by Bacillus. The most common moulds found were Penicillium and Aspergillus. A multivariate method (partial least squares, PLS) was used to investigate the emission patterns from the materials. Materials with bacterial growth had a different VOC profile to those with only mould growth.
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| 5. |
- Glas, Bo, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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A novel approach to evaluation of adsorbents for sampling indoor volatile organic compounds associated with symptom reports
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Monitoring. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1464-0325 .- 1464-0333. ; 10:11, s. 1297-1303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article addresses problems that complicate attempts to compare methods when several factors may be associated with an effect, but it is not known which factors are relevant. Chemicals that may contribute to 'sick building syndrome' (SBS), and thus should be sampled in investigations of SBS, are not currently known. A study was undertaken to compare the utility of three adsorbents (Carbopack B, Chromosorb 106 and Tenax TA) for detecting differences in personal chemical exposure to volatile organic compounds in indoor air, between persons with and without SBS symptoms (cases and controls). On the basis of office workers' responses to a questionnaire, 15 cases and 15 controls were chosen. They simultaneously carried diffusive samplers with adsorbents during a week at work, and the acquired samples were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The adsorbents were then compared in terms of their ability to separate cases and controls in partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models. This method of comparison takes into account detected differences in chemical exposure between cases and controls measured with the different adsorbents. Tenax TA gave the best PLS-DA models for separating cases and controls, but a combination of measurements with Tenax TA and Carbopack B gave better PLS-DA models than models based on measurements from either adsorbent alone. Adding measurements from Chromosorb 106 did not improve the results.
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| 6. |
- Glas, Bo, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of three adsorbents for diffusive sampling of airborne volatile organic compounds in office environments
- 2005
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Ingår i: Indoor air 2005. - Beijing : Tsinghua university press. ; , s. 2713-2717
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Volatile organic compounds were personally sampled by people classified as cases (people having certain SBS symptoms) and controls, i.e. people not fulfilling the criteria's for cases. The aim of the study was to find out which adsorbent that gave the best separation between SBS cases and controls based on their chemical exposure of VOCs. The statistical method used was partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The adsorbents compared were Carbopack B, Chromosorb 106 and Tenax TA. The study included 30 office workers wearing diffusive samplers during one working week. The samplers were analysed with thermal desorption-GC-MS, and each chromatographic peak was included in the data evaluation. Tenax TA gave the best separation between cases and controls with a Q(2) = 0.434 and R(2)Y = 0.873 for three components. Analyses of samples taken with Carbopack B and Chromosorb 106 showed no ability to discriminate between the two classes.
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| 7. |
- Levin, Jan-Olov, et al.
(författare)
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Delprogrammet cancerframkallande ämnen i tätortsluft, personlig exponering och bakgrundsmätningar. : Utveckling av metoder för personburen mätning av PAH.
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I denna studie har olika metoder för analys av partikulära polycykliska aromatiska kolväten (PAH) efter provtagning på filter utvärderats. Två metoder för ultraljudsextraktion, ett traditionellt ultraljudsvattenbad samt en ultraljudsextraktor specialdesignad för PAH-extraktion (Sonicator) samt två olika analysmetoder gaskromatografi-masspektrometri (GC/MS) och vätskekromatografi med fluorescensdetaktion (LC/Fluo) har studerats. För testerna användes bl.a certifierade referensmaterial av typen Urban Dust och Fly Ash. Sonicatorn gav för Urban Dust en avvikelse på mellan 5-35 % med GC/MS-analys och med LC/Fluo-analys var avvikelsen endast 3 % från det certifierade värdet. För extraktion av Fly Ash med Sonicatorn var avvikeslen <10 % med GC/MS-metoden medan LC/Fluo-metoden endast var ca 30 % av det certifierade värdet, vilket inte är acceptabelt. Extraktion med traditionellt ultraljudsvattenbad följt av LC/Fluo-analys gav för Urban Dust en avvikelse på ca 32%. Filterprover tagna i stadsmiljö analyserade med bägge metoderna gav likvärdiga resultat för B[a]P oberoende av analysmetod. Studien visar att båda analysmetoderna är användbara för mätningar där dammet är av typen Urban Dust, dvs. från utomhus- och tätortsmiljöer. I denna studie har fokus legat på analys av högmolekylära, partikulära PAH-komponenter och då framför allt B[a]P. Förutom B[a]P kan flertalet andra PAH-komponenter analyseras med bägge metoderna, dock har i detta projekt endast B[a]P studerats med LC-fluo-metoden eftersom detta ämne är prioriterat i EU-direktiven. En stor fördel med LC/Fluo-metoden är att den inte kräver lika omfattande provupparbetning före analys. LC/Fluo-metoden har något bättre känslighet, men bägge metoderna är tillräckligt känsliga för dessa analyser. Det är viktigt att påpeka att PAH i allmänluften domineras av PAH med 3-4 ringar dvs PAH som finns i gasfas. PAH-komponenterna fenantren, pyren och fluoranten är till 80-90% i gas fas vid 20°C. Vill man mäta sanna halter av PAH i både gasfas och partikelfas måste någon form av denuder eller motsvarande provtagningsmetod användas. För att få en bra uppfattning om totala mängden gas + partiklar och en ungefärlig uppfattning om fördelning gas/partiklar kan en enkel uppsättning av 13-mm-filter av glasfiber i kombination med adsorbentrör med XAD-2 användas [9-10]. Denna provtagningsutrustning är lättanvänd för personburna mätningar där man inte specifikt behöver mäta PM2,5 och kan användas både för GC-MS-analys och LC-Fluo-analys [9-10]. Ett intressant alternativ för att mäta gasfas-PAH är passiva provtagningstekniker som PUF (polyurethane foam disks) och SPMDs (semipermeable membrane devices) som idag används som tidsintegrerade (2-6 veckor) semikvantitativa provtagare i olika miljöövervakningsprogram för gasfas PAH både i Europa och globalt [11-13]. Det är därför viktigt att också utveckla och validera enkla och billiga metoder och gärna diffusionsprovtagare för att kunna mäta gasfas-PAH både stationärt och personburet. Lagring av prover testades inte i denna studie. Vid långtidslagring kan det vara viktigt att lagra filtren i kylskåp. PAH-föreningar med 5 eller 6 ringar anses dock vara stabila även vid lagring i rumstemperatur [7]. Sammanfattningsvis har utvärderingen visat att det är möjligt att analysera 8 av de 16 PAH-föreningar som EPA anger på personburna teflonfilter provtagna med PM2.5cykloner. Inom HÄMI-luft programmet kan man därmed vid samma provtagningstillfälle få svar på partikelmassekoncentrationen och koncentrationen av ett flertal svårflyktiga PAH-föreningar, däribland benso(a)pyren.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Strandberg, Bo, 1960, et al.
(författare)
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Field evaluation of two diffusive samplers and two adsorbent media to determine 1,3-butadiene and benzene levels in air
- 2006
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 40:40, s. 7686-7695
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two types of diffusive samplers, both of which are compatible with thermal desorption, but differ in their geometry-SKC-Ultra (badge-type) and Radiello (radial symmetry-type)-were evaluated indoors and outdoors under varying temperature, humidity and wind speed conditions, using the graphitized adsorbents Carbopack X or Carbograph 5 to measure 1,3-butadiene and benzene in ambient air. The results obtained by diffusive sampling were compared with results obtained using a conventional active sampling method over both long (1 week) and shorter periods (6-24 h). Analysis and detection were performed using an automatic thermal desorber (ATD) connected to a gas chromatograph-flame ionization detector (GC/FID). Results from each sampler and adsorbent combination were examined using ordinary or multiple linear regression analysis. The overall uncertainty (OU) was also determined. In general, the results obtained with both samplers showed good agreement with those obtained by active sampling. Carbopack X appeared to be a more efficient adsorbent than Carbograph 5 for 1,3-butadiene, but the two adsorbents were equivalent for benzene. No effects of either humidity or air velocity were observed. Minor temperature effects were observed for both samplers for 1,3-butadiene. In summary, the results confirmed the accuracy of sampling rates previously determined for the two samplers and adsorbents. We consider the two samplers to be suitable for stationary and personal monitoring for the general population of 1,3-butadiene and benzene in various environments, indoors and outdoors. They are almost independent of meteorological conditions and may be suitable for monitoring industrial atmospheres.
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