Chemical analysis of semi-volatile organic compounds of concern in outdoor and indoor environments

这项研究的长期目标是通过改善化学品管理和促进公共卫生政策和建议，努力保护人类和生态系统的健康，为此，这种设备是紧迫和必要的。 实现这一目标需要开发和应用基于工程的方法和工具，将污染物排放与人类和生态系统暴露以及最终的不利影响联系起来。 由于其毒性，令人关注的污染物包括传统和新出现的持久性和伪持久性半挥发性有机化合物（SVOC），特别是新的和旧的卤化和有机磷酸盐阻燃剂（FR），用作增塑剂的邻苯二甲酸酯，多氯联苯（PCB）和多环芳烃（PAH）。 我的实验室的短期目标是提高我们对以下问题的理解和量化能力：1）室内污染物来源，排放和命运，2）人类暴露于室内污染物来源，3）室外城市污染物排放和命运作为室内污染物清单的函数。所寻求的设备（带质谱检测器的气相色谱仪或GC-MS）对于准确和有效地测量室内和室外环境中的SVOCs水平以及开发进行这些测量所需的采样和分析方法是必要的。 测量结果用于记录这些化合物的状况，估计人类接触情况，并评估减少接触的缓解战略的有效性。 这些测量结果也用于我们开发的模型中，用于预测暴露和通知化学品管理。现在提出这项建议，是因为收到了新的资金，用于开发新的测量方法和进行需要测量SVOC的流行病学研究，以及现有设备的老化。

The long term goal of the research, for which this equipment is urgent and essential, is to work towards protecting human and ecosystem health by improving chemical management and contributing to public health policies and advice. Achieving this goal requires developing and applying engineering-based methods and tools that connect contaminant emissions to human and ecosystem exposure and ultimately adverse effects. The contaminants of concern, due to their toxicity, include legacy and emerging persistent and pseudo-persistent semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), specifically new and old halogenated and organophosphate flame retardants (FRs), phthalate esters used as plasticizers, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). My lab's short-term goals are to improve our understanding of and ability to quantify: 1) indoor contaminant sources, emissions and fate, 2) human exposure from indoor contaminant sources, and 3) outdoor urban contaminant emissions and fate as a function of indoor contaminant inventories. The equipment sought (gas chromatogram with mass spectral detector or GC-MS) is necessary for accurate and efficient measurement of ambient levels of SVOCs in indoor and outdoor environments, and for developing sampling and analytical methods needed to make these measurements. The measurements are used to document the status of these compounds, to estimate human exposure, and to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation strategies to reduce exposure. The measurements are also used in models we develop for predicting exposure and informing chemical management. This proposal is being submitted now because of new funding received for developing new measurement methods and for epidemiological studies requiring SVOC measurement, and because of the aging of existing equipment.