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Modeling clothing as a secondary source of exposure to SVOCs across indoor microenvironments
Citation:
Kvasnicka, J., E. Hubal, AND M. Diamond. Modeling clothing as a secondary source of exposure to SVOCs across indoor microenvironments. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology . Nature Publishing Group, London, Uk, , 1559-0631, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-023-00621-2
Impact/Purpose:
In this study, a mass-balance modeling framework was expanded and applied for three general purposes: (1) to investigate the potential for clothing to function as a transport vector and secondary source of gas-phase SVOCs across indoor microenvironments, (2) to elucidate how the history of clothing’s storage, wear, and laundering can influence the dynamics of transdermal uptake of these SVOCs, and (3) to assess the potential for multiple human occupants to influence the multimedia dynamics of these SVOCs indoors.
Description:
Evidence suggests that clothing can influence human exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) through transdermal uptake and inhalation. Accordingly, a computational modeling framework (ABICAM) was expanded and applied to assess the dynamics of human exposure to gas-phase SVOCs across indoor microenvironments, accounting for the dynamic history of clothing’s storage, wear, and laundering. Estimates of transdermal uptake of two phthalates, diethyl phthalate (DEP) and di(n-butyl) phthalate (DnBP), were generally consistent with those extrapolated from measured concentrations of urinary metabolites, and those predicted by two other mechanistic models. Clothing, with its very high sorptive capacity, readily accumulated DEP (6,900-9,700 μg) and DnBP (4,500-4,800 μg) from the surrounding air over 6 h. Because of this high capacity, clothing also effectively minimized transdermal uptake of these contaminants through underlying skin. In addition, clothing functioned as a vector for transporting DEP and DnBP across indoor microenvironments and reemitted 13-80% (DEP) and 3-27% (DnBP) of the accumulated masses over 48 h. The resulting secondary inhalation exposures were estimated to be low, compared to the corresponding primary exposures, but could plausibly be accentuated in other contexts, for example, involving longer timeframes of clothing storage, multiple occupants wearing contaminated clothing, and/or repeated instances of clothing-mediated transport of contaminants (e.g., from work).
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Modeling clothing as a secondary source of exposure to SVOCs across indoor microenvironments