Characterization of the variation of carbonyl compounds concentrations before, during, and after the renovation of an apartment at Niterói, Brazil

The present work reports the variation of 31 carbonyl compounds (CC) in an apartment located at Niterói City, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Eight sampling campaigns were conducted through a 1-year period, and three areas (living room, kitchen, and bedroom) were evaluated before, during, and after the renovation activities and reoccupation of the apartment. Samples were collected using SEP-PAK cartridges impregnated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, and the hydrazones were analyzed using rapid resolution liquid chromatography with UV detection. The lowest total concentration of CC (19.0 ± 1.5 μg m −3 ) was found before the renovation when the apartment was empty, but door varnishing resulted in highest contamination of the apartment (1386 ± 384 μg m −3 ); however, an important dispersion of CC was observed in the subsequent sampling (148 ± 1.8 μg m −3 ). After apartment reoccupation, the indoor contamination seemed to depend on the routine activities taken there, such as household product use and cooking activities, but apparently, local temperature increase favored the vaporization of the volatile CC from the building materials in the apartment. As far as we are concerned, this is the first study comparing the concentrations of 31 CC in residential areas before, during, and after renovation activities taken in Brazil.