Emerging indoor pollutants

Our plain-English summary of Emerging indoor pollutants, by T. Salthammer (International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2020).

The study

• Author: T. Salthammer
• Journal: International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
• Published: 2020;224:113423
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 51 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

There is an increasing use of so-called emerging substances or substances of emerging concern. These terms describe, inter alia, the replacement of commonly used chemicals in formulations by supposedly less harmful chemicals. A well-known example is the shift from DEHP to higher molecular weight phthalates and later the shift from phthalates to DINCH, adipates, terephthalates, etc. Similar trends can be observed in the case of solvents and flame retardants. Over the years, new compound groups such as perfluorocarbons, UV-filters, synthetic musks, parabens, siloxanes, neonicotinoids and drug residues also appeared on the scene. Today, however, the term "emerging substances" has to be defined much more broadly as regards the indoor environment. As a result of the extensive measures for energy-related renovation, contaminated waste products such as asbestos, PCBs, PAHs and PCNs are once again forming the focus of attention as re-emerging chemicals. Many relevant compounds, in particular reaction products, were unknown until recently due to the fact, that they can only now be detected using highly sensitive methods. Furthermore, already known chemicals attract scientific and public interest through reclassification or through the derivation of indoor guideline and reference values. The classical way of monitoring emerging compounds is air and dust analysis and therefore, the spectrum of analytical techniques needs to be continuously broadened. However, there is also a demand for human biomarkers, preferably in urine. A further important aspect is the post-hoc analysis of house dust and urine samples, which are stored in environmental specimen banks. The identification and temporal tracking of emerging chemicals is thereby enabled. It is strongly recommended to take advantage of the possibilities resulting from the combination of classical interior analytics and human biomonitoring to promptly detect emerging pollutants and chemicals of concern.

Copyright © 2019 The Author. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This was a narrative review, by a single author, of published work up to August 2019, mostly from industrialized areas, on chemicals newly or again of concern in indoor air, house dust and human biomonitoring. It reported no new data on people's health. Most of it covered substitutes for phthalates and flame retardants, emissions from e-cigarettes and 3D printers, and indoor chemistry. Asbestos appeared in a short section on 'déjà vu' or re-emerging chemicals: substances left in buildings and re-exposed during renovation, often for energy saving. The author wrote that the asbestos situation was particularly urgent, pointing to largely unknown sources in fillers, adhesives, sealants, plasters and paints, some used until around 1995. The review listed a 2005 EU measure on asbestos among bans and restrictions and described a German 'asbestos dialogue' forum begun in 2017. A table named chrysotile and crocidolite as the standard asbestos analytes. The author recommended combining indoor air and dust analysis with human biomonitoring to detect emerging pollutants promptly, and said the list of chemicals covered was not exhaustive.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of published literature on emerging and re-emerging indoor pollutants. Asbestos is one topic among many and is covered briefly.
• Who was studied: No study population. The review covered the indoor environment (indoor air, house dust, human biomonitoring) as described in published work from industrialized areas up to August 2019.
• Exposure: A wide range of indoor chemicals. Asbestos was discussed as a 're-emerging' contaminant left in building materials (fillers, adhesives, sealants, plasters, paints) that can be released during renovation.
• Main results:
  • The author defined 'déjà vu' or re-emerging chemicals as substances that were not removed during earlier renovation but were fixed in place and later re-exposed.
  • The author described the asbestos situation as particularly urgent, pointing to largely unknown sources in fillers, adhesives, sealants, plasters and paints, some used until around 1995.
  • Asbestos (2005, EU) was listed among the national and international bans or restrictions of particular importance for indoor spaces.
  • In Germany, a 'Nationaler Asbestdialog' (national asbestos dialogue) forum was set up in 2017 by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. It seeks ways to determine how much asbestos-containing material is in buildings to be renovated, and which manual work releases significant fiber concentrations.
  • A table of re-emerging chemicals listed chrysotile and crocidolite (printed in German spelling) as the standard target analytes for asbestos.
  • The author noted that it is often not known that such contaminated wastes are still present in the building fabric.
  • Citing other studies, the review reported that the rise of a DINCH metabolite (OH-MINCH) in human urine since DINCH's market launch in 2002 correlates with the rise of DINCH in house dust.
  • The author stated that many substitute chemicals now on the market have no analytical methods.
• The authors' conclusion: The author recommended combining classical indoor air and dust analysis with human biomonitoring to promptly detect emerging pollutants and chemicals of concern.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The list of chemicals and technologies covered is not exhaustive.
  • The literature mainly reflects industrialized areas and covers work published only up to August 2019.
  • For the house dust data in Table 3, sampling locations and dust sampling strategies differed between studies.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Biomarker.

Related studies

• Composition of heavy metals and airborne fibers in the indoor environment of a building during renovation — M.T. Latif, N.H. Baharudin, et al. (2011)
• Indoor air pollutants. A literature review — T.F. Cooke (1991)
• Health effects of indoor pollutants — M.D. Lebowitz (1983)
• Indoor air quality differences between urban and rural preschools in Korea — C. Yoon, K. Lee, et al. (2011)
• Indoor radon levels in urban Hyderabad area, Andhra Pradesh, India — M. Sreenath Reddy, P. Yadagiri Reddy, et al. (2008)
• Airborne exposure concentrations during asbestos abatement of ceiling and wall plaster — J.H. Lange, K.W. Thomulka (2002)

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