Indoor airborne phthalates in university campuses and exposure assessment

Phthalates are widely used as plasticizers in consumer products and are ubiquitous in indoor environments. Undergraduates spend a high amount of time indoors, however, little is known on the pollution characteristics and exposure to phthalates in indoor air in a university setting. In this study, passive air samplers measured the concentrations of phthalates in air from dormitories, classrooms, computer rooms, laboratories, and offices of a university in Beijing, China. A Monte-Carlo simulation was used to estimate the undergraduates’ exposure via inhalation based on air concentrations. Six phthalates were detected, including Dimethyl phthalate(DMP), Di (isobutyl) phthalate(DiBP), Di (n-butyl) phthalate(DnBP), Di (2-Methoxyethyl) phthalate(DMEP), Di (2-n-Butoxyethyl) phthalate(DBEP), and Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(DEHP). Sampling rates of polyurethane foam (PUF) were obtained from a calibration study by co-deploying passive and active air samplers in offices and laboratories, and the average sampling rate was 0.62 ± 0.33 m3/day. DnBP and DMEP were the most abundant phthalates in total investigated environments at the university. DMP, DnBP, and DMEP air concentrations showed significant differences in different indoor environments (p 0.05). DMP concentrations were significantly different between male and female dormitories (p