UC Berkeley

Semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) represent a diverse and dynamic class of chemicals found indoors with poorly understood temporal behavior. Past analytical work has incorporated time-averaged sampling procedures, limiting the scope of inquiries about SVOCs in indoor air. Thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatography (SV-TAG) is an established analytical technique for measuring SVOCs in the gas- and particle-phases with hourly time resolution. In this study, SV-TAG was used to measure the indoor distribution of SVOCs in an occupied California home over a two-month period. Data reveal dynamic and persistent ranges of individual chemicals and chemical classes, including phthalates. The effects of physical parameters and occupant behavior on airborne phthalate concentrations and other SVOCs of interest were explored. Phthalate levels were roughly five times higher indoors than outdoors. Occupant behavior had no clear effect on total phthalate emissions, which were dominated by the contents of the house and strongly modulated by temperature.