Characterization and flux assessment of airborne phthalates released from polyvinyl chloride consumer goods

Highlights: • Enhanced levels of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) can affect human health. • The major SVOCs like phthalates are released into indoor by many sources like plasticizers. • This study investigated the emission characteristics of diverse phthalates from plastic/rubber products. • Emission behavior of phthalates is described in relation to several key variables, e.g., types of PVC. The concentrations and fluxes of airborne phthalates were measured from five types of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) consumer products (vinyl flooring, wallcovering, child's toy, yoga mat, and edge protector) using a small chamber (impinger) system. Airborne phthalates released from each of those PVC samples were collected using sorbent (Tenax TA) tubes at three temperature control intervals (0, 3, and 6 h) under varying temperature conditions (25, 40, and 90 °C). A total of 11 phthalate compounds were quantified in the five PVC products examined in this study. To facilitate the comparison of phthalate emissions among PVC samples, their flux values were defined for total phthalates by summing the average fluxes of all 11 phthalates generated during the control period of 6 h. The highest flux values were seen in the edge protector sample at all temperatures (0.40 (25 °C), 9.65 (40 °C), and 75.7 μg m⁻² h⁻¹ (90 °C)) of which emission was dominated by dibutyl isophthalate. In contrast, the lowest fluxes were found in wallcovering (0.01 (25 °C) and 0.05 μg m⁻² h⁻¹ (40 °C)) and child's toy (0.23 μg m⁻² h⁻¹ (90 °C)) at each temperature level. The information regarding phthalate composition and emission patterns varied dynamically with type of PVC sample, controlled temperature, and duration of control.