dzȯ ȸ
13 4ȣ, December 2014
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ISSN : 2288-9167 (Print)
ISSN : 2288-923X (Online)
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A study on health risk assessment of volatile organic compounds in child-care center
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Abstracts
Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) detected frequently in the indoor air of child-care centers causes neurological
disorders, lung, eyes, and bronchial irritation, and acute and chronic toxicity. In this study, the distributions of
carcinogenic VOCs detected in child-care centers were characterized and a health risk assessment of the VOCs
was performed, which can provide the necessary information for drawing up safety plans with respect to the
concerned materials. The sampling of sites in day-care centers was undertaken two times: in the morning
(10:00~12:00), and afternoon(16:00~20:00)-at 23 daycare centers located in Seoul, Korea from April, 2012 to July,
2012. The overall average concentrations of individual VOCs were benzene(1.61 g/m3) > carbon tetrachloride
(0.78 g/m3) > chloroform(0.67 g/m3) in order. Indoor/outdoor(I/O) ratios of benzene, carbon tetrachloride,
chloroform were 1.33, 1.09, 1.72, respectively. Benzene and carbon tetrachloride are thought to be more strongly
associated with outdoor sources as compared to chloroform. Spearman correlation of benzene, carbon tetrachloride
between indoor and outdoor concentration showed statistically significant levels(p < 0.05). The linear correlations
for benzene, styrene, and carbon tetrachloride were tested. A significant correlation was observed only for carbon
tetrachloride, accounting for 83 % of the variance. The risk assessment of the carcinogenic VOCs for teachers,
infants, and children showed that none of the targeted VOCs posed a serious risk.
Keywords : Volatile organic compounds(VOCs), Indoor air quality, Child-care center, Health risk assessment, Montecarlo
simulation