Occupational Exposure and Health Risks of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of Hotel Housekeepers Field Measurements of Exposure and Health Risks

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Indoor Air
• Personal Author:
  Lin, Nan ; Rosemberg, Marie-Anne ; Li, Wei ; Meza-Wilson, Emily ; Godwin, Christopher ; Batterman, Stuart
• Description:
  Hotel housekeepers represent a large, low-income, predominantly minority, and high-risk workforce. Little is known about their exposure to chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study evaluates VOC exposures of housekeepers, sources and factors affecting VOC levels, and provides preliminary estimates of VOC-related health risks. We utilized indoor and personal sampling at two hotels, assessed ventilation, and characterized the VOC composition of cleaning agents. Personal sampling of hotel staff showed a total target VOC concentration of 57 ± 36 µg/m| (mean ± SD), about twice that of indoor samples. VOCs of greatest health significance included chloroform and formaldehyde. Several workers had exposure to alkanes that could cause non-cancer effects. VOC levels were negatively correlated with estimated air change rates. The composition and concentrations of the tested products and air samples helped identify possible emission sources, which included building sources (for formaldehyde), disinfection by-products in the laundry room, and cleaning products. VOC levels and the derived health risks in this study were at the lower range found in the US buildings. The excess lifetime cancer risk (average of 4.1 × 10| ) still indicates a need to lower exposure by reducing or removing toxic constituents, especially formaldehyde, or by increasing ventilation rates.
• Keywords:
  Air Pollutants Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Exposure Formaldehyde Health Risk Hotel Housekeeper Humans Occupational Exposure Personal Samples Ventilation Volatile Organic Compounds

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• Source:
  Indoor Air. 31(1):26-39
• Pubmed ID:
  32609907
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8020495
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  P30 ES017885/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T42 OH008455/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  31
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:4bbf41480ba226b3a27f1787b936793ec7f4e06680a191defc05e71a8fe79852
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/104822/cdc_104822_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.06 MB ]