Emission of Di-2-ethylhexyl Phthalate from PVC Flooring into Air and Uptake in Dust

Emission and Sorption Experiments in FLEC and CLIMPAQ

Abstract:
The emission of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) from a PVC flooring was studied for up to 472 days in both the FLEC (Field and Laboratory Emission Cell) and the CLIMPAQ (Chamber for Laboratory Investigations of Materials, Pollution, and Air Quality). The loading of the CLIMPAQs was varied but was constant in the FLECs. The sorption properties of FLEC and CLIMPAQ were investigated using different methods. In addition, the uptake of DEHP by office floor dust on the PVC flooring was studied in CLIMPAQ experiments. The concentration versus time curves in both FLECs and CLIMPAQs increased slowly over about 150 days and reached a quasi-static equilibrium at 1 g m^-3. The main conclusions were that (i) the emission rate of DEHP was limited by gas-phase mass transport and (ii) the dust layer increased the emission rate by increasing the external concentration gradient above the surface of the PVC. These conclusions were based on the facts that the specific emission rate was inversely proportional to the loading and that the dust had sorbed about four times as much DEHP over a 68-day period as emitted in the gas-phase experiments. About one-half of the emitted DEHP was deposited on the internal surfaces of both the FLEC and the CLIMPAQ.

The article has been published in Environmental Science and Technology, 38(9), 2004, 2531-2537.

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