IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v7y2010i12p4213-4237d10592.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sources of Propylene Glycol and Glycol Ethers in Air at Home

Author

Listed:
  • Hyunok Choi

    (Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, USA)

  • Norbert Schmidbauer

    (Norwegian Institute for Air Research, P.O. Box 100, NO-2027 Kjeller, Norway)

  • John Spengler

    (Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, USA)

  • Carl-Gustaf Bornehag

    (Public Health Sciences, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
    SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Boras, Sweden)

Abstract

Propylene glycol and glycol ether (PGE) in indoor air have recently been associated with asthma and allergies as well as sensitization in children. In this follow-up report, sources of the PGEs in indoor air were investigated in 390 homes of pre-school age children in Sweden. Professional building inspectors examined each home for water damages, mold odour, building’s structural characteristics, indoor temperature, absolute humidity and air exchange rate. They also collected air and dust samples. The samples were analyzed for four groups of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-VOCs (SVOCs), including summed concentrations of 16 PGEs, 8 terpene hydrocarbons, 2 Texanols, and the phthalates n-butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). Home cleaning with water and mop ≥ once/month, repainting ≥ one room prior to or following the child’s birth, and “newest” surface material in the child’s bedroom explained largest portion of total variability in PGE concentrations. High excess indoor humidity (g/m 3 ) additionally contributed to a sustained PGE levels in indoor air far beyond several months following the paint application. No behavioral or building structural factors, except for water-based cleaning, predicted an elevated terpene level in air. No significant predictor of Texanols emerged from our analysis. Overall disparate sources and low correlations among the PGEs, terpenes, Texanols, and the phthalates further confirm the lack of confounding in the analysis reporting the associations of the PGE and the diagnoses of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyunok Choi & Norbert Schmidbauer & John Spengler & Carl-Gustaf Bornehag, 2010. "Sources of Propylene Glycol and Glycol Ethers in Air at Home," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:7:y:2010:i:12:p:4213-4237:d:10592
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/12/4213/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/12/4213/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jaakkola, J.J.K. & Øie, L. & Nafstad, P. & Botten, G. & Samuelsen, S.O. & Magnus, P., 1999. "Interior surface materials in the home and the development of bronchial obstruction in young children in Oslo, Norway," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(2), pages 188-192.
    2. Jaakkola, J.J.K. & Parise, H. & Kislitsin, V. & Lebedeva, N.I. & Spengler, J.D., 2004. "Asthma, Wheezing, and Allergies in Russian Schoolchildren in Relation to New Surface Materials in the Home," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(4), pages 560-562.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sang-Woo Kim & Jeongho Lee & Soon-Chan Kwon & June-Hee Lee, 2021. "Association between Urinary Phthalate Metabolite Concentration and Atopic Dermatitis in Korean Adolescents Participating in the Third Korean National Environmental Health Survey, 2015–2017," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-10, February.
    2. W. S. Kwan & D. Nikezic & Vellaisamy A. L. Roy & K. N. Yu, 2020. "Multiple Stressor Effects of Radon and Phthalates in Children: Background Information and Future Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-27, April.
    3. Jing Zhao & Yukari Nagai & Wei Gao & Tao Shen & Youming Fan, 2023. "The Effects of Interior Materials on the Restorativeness of Home Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(14), pages 1-11, July.
    4. Nipuni Nilakshini Wimalasena & Alice Chang-Richards & Kevin I-Kai Wang & Kim N. Dirks, 2021. "Housing Risk Factors Associated with Respiratory Disease: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-24, March.
    5. Cong Liu & Zhe Liu & John C Little & Yinping Zhang, 2013. "Convenient, Rapid and Accurate Measurement of SVOC Emission Characteristics in Experimental Chambers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(8), pages 1-9, August.
    6. Tin-Tin Win-Shwe & Rie Yanagisawa & Eiko Koike & Hirohisa Takano, 2019. "Memory Function, Neurological, and Immunological Biomarkers in Allergic Asthmatic Mice Intratracheally Exposed to Bisphenol A," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Jinhua Hu & Nianping Li & Yang Lv & Jing Liu & Jingchao Xie & Huibo Zhang, 2017. "Investigation on Indoor Air Pollution and Childhood Allergies in Households in Six Chinese Cities by Subjective Survey and Field Measurements," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, August.
    8. Bonnie E. Shook-Sa & Ding-Geng Chen & Haibo Zhou, 2017. "Using Structural Equation Modeling to Assess the Links between Tobacco Smoke Exposure, Volatile Organic Compounds, and Respiratory Function for Adolescents Aged 6 to 18 in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-12, September.
    9. Rune Becher & Johan Øvrevik & Per E. Schwarze & Steinar Nilsen & Jan K. Hongslo & Jan Vilhelm Bakke, 2018. "Do Carpets Impair Indoor Air Quality and Cause Adverse Health Outcomes: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Evridiki Patelarou & Nikolaos Tzanakis & Frank J. Kelly, 2015. "Exposure to Indoor Pollutants and Wheeze and Asthma Development during Early Childhood," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-25, April.
    11. Branislav Kolena & Ida Petrovicova & Tomas Pilka & Zuzana Pucherova & Michal Munk & Bohumil Matula & Viera Vankova & Peter Petlus & Zita Jenisova & Zdenka Rozova & Sona Wimmerova & Tomas Trnovec, 2014. "Phthalate Exposure and Health-Related Outcomes in Specific Types of Work Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-12, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:7:y:2010:i:12:p:4213-4237:d:10592. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.