Emissions, fate, exposure and management of chemical contaminants indoors and outdoors

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This proposal is motivated by public concern about the negative impacts of toxic chemicals. The research goal is to provide information and tools to government agencies entrusted with protecting human and ecological health through chemical management policies and regulations, and to provide advice to the public on effective ways to minimize exposure to toxic chemicals. The knowledge needed to achieve this goal includes chemical sources, emissions, transport pathways and exposures. We propose to fill this need by connecting sources and emissions through to human and ecosystem exposures to toxic chemicals or “chemicals of concern”. Those chemicals include brominated and organophosphate flame retardants, phthalate plasticizers, synthetic musk fragrances, selected current use pesticides, and other semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) prioritized by Canada's Chemical Management Plan. The SVOCs of interest here are released from products and materials. Their concentrations are highest indoors where Canadians spend 90% of their time and hence have opportunities for exposure. The SVOCs are then released from indoors to outdoors, where outdoor urban environments and ecosystems have high concentrations due to the confluence of people and activities. This proposal has four components. First, our research will identify and quantify indoor sources, emissions and processes controlling indoor SVOC concentrations. A focus will be on understanding the role of clothing in accumulating indoor SVOCs. Experiments will be conducted to measure SVOC uptake by fabrics from indoor air and release to laundry water. Results from these experiments will be used to improve our mechanistic model of indoor SVOC behaviour and to predict indoor emissions. Second, we propose to improve estimates of personal exposure to indoor SVOCs by further testing our novel silicone rubber passive sampler used to measure indoor SVOC air concentrations and exposure due to inhalation and contact with products (brooch and wristband designs). We will also conduct experiments with participants to test the role of clothing in SVOC exposure. Experimental information will be assembled into a predictive model of personal exposure. Third, we will follow SVOCs from indoors to outdoors in order to estimate the sources to, and extent of aquatic ecosystem exposure. Toronto will be used as a case study. This effort will entail measuring SVOCs in urban air and surface waters using passive samplers. The measurements in water will be used to estimate SVOC exposure to aquatic biota. Again, information from the sampling campaign will be assembled into a model to predict outdoor ecosystem exposure due to emissions from indoor products and materials, including clothes laundering as a conduit of SVOCs from indoors to outdoors. Finally, knowledge gained from the research will be used to promote chemical management in the context of sustainability.