Abstract |
Sorptive interactions between gaseous pollutants and materials can be beneficial in terms of lowering pollutant concentrations and, thus, human exposure to those pollutants in buildings. However, the sorption process also leads to contamination of indoor materials and prolonged desorption of pollutants from materials. Scenarios for which sorptive interactions affect indoor air quality range from routine activities in buildings, e.g., use of cleaners or fragrances in homes to cigarette smoking in bars, to infrequent and extreme events, e.g., chemical spills in laboratories or terrorist releases of chemical warfare agents. A critical need in modeling indoor air quality during either routine or extreme events is the ability to model sorptive interactions between gaseous pollutants and indoor materials. However, the existing database is sparse with respect to model parameters for a wide range of chemicals and indoor materials. We address that need in this study through the use of seven chemicals with a wide range of physico-chemical properties and six different test materials that are commonly found in buildings. The purpose of this study is to provide data to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the evaluation of mathematical models that are best suited for analysis of the fate of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that could be employed during acts of terror on buildings. |