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UNVENTED KEROSENE HEATER EMISSIONS FROM MOBILE HOMES: STUDIES ON INDOOR AIR PARTICLES, SEMI-VOLATILE ORGANICS, CARBON MONOXIDE AND MUTAGENICITY
Citation:
Mumford, J., R. Williams, D. Walsh, R. Burton, D. Svendsgaard, J. Chuang, V. Houk, AND J. Lewtas. UNVENTED KEROSENE HEATER EMISSIONS FROM MOBILE HOMES: STUDIES ON INDOOR AIR PARTICLES, SEMI-VOLATILE ORGANICS, CARBON MONOXIDE AND MUTAGENICITY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-91/261 (NTIS PB92113232).
Description:
This study was conducted to assess human exposure to air pollutants resulting from the use of kerosene heaters in mobile homes. t has been estimated that 15-17 million unvented kerosene heaters have been sold in the United States, and 33% of these heaters have been sold to mobile home residents. he emissions from kerosene heaters can result in high pollutants levels in the mobile homes that have a small air volume and low ventilation rate. ight totally electric mobile homes with no smokers living in the homes were monitored for indoor air particles < 10 um (PM10), semivolatile organics, carbon monoxide (CO), and mutagenicity of semivolatile and particle-phase organics in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 without S9 using a microsuspension reverse-mutation assay. ach home was monitored for an average of 6.5 h/day, 3 days/week, for 4 weeks (2 weeks with the heater on and 2 weeks with the heater off) during the heating season of 1989. ndoor air exchange rate, temperature, and humidity were measured. hemical analyses, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and nitro PAH, also were performed on the indoor air samples from a selected home with the kerosene heater on and off. ncreases in CO and organic concentrations resulting from the use of kerosene heaters were found in most homes monitored. igh concentrations of both total chromatographable organics (bp between 100-400 degrees C) and gravimetric organics (bp>300 degrees C) were found in homes when the kerosene heaters were used. verall PM10 data from eight homes revealed no significant kerosene heater effect on PM10 concentrations. wo homes, however, showed a significant increase in PM10 due to kerosene heater use with concentrations exceeding 100 ug/m3 when the heaters were on. as chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis data from one home indicated an increase in the concentrations of PAH and nitro PAH due to kerosene heater use. hemical analysis data also suggested the presence of evaporated, unburned kerosene fuel present in semivolatile organics collected in the XAD samples. hen kerosene heaters mutagenic activity on the heater-off days. n comparison with the U.S. national ambient air standards, four out of the eight heaters investigated in this study emitted pollutants that exceeded the ambient air standards some days. wo homes (Homes 3 and 8) exceeded the 24-h PM10 standard and three homes (Homes 1, 4, and 8) exceeded the 1-h peak and/or 8-h average for CO standards. hese data suggested that emissions from unvented kerosene heaters can significantly impact indoor air quality in mobile homes and that these emissions contain carcinogenic compounds and can be potentially carcinogenic in humans.