Nasal Effects of VOCs and Ozone

Details

• Personal Author:
  Devlin RB ; Fan T ; Fiedler N ; Gardner CR ; Kelly-McNeil K ; Kipen HM ; Laumbach RJ ; Lioy P ; Soukup J ; Zhang J
• Description:
  Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may contribute to the nasal symptoms that are prominent in indoor air complaints. A mixture of 22 VOCs has been associated with nasal irritation and increased PMNs in nasal lavage (NAL). Unsaturated VOCs and ozone react to form particles, aldehydes and other irritating compounds. We hypothesized that exposure to 23 VOCs and ozone (VOCO) would cause more nasal irritation and inflammation than VOCs or clean air (CA). In a repeated measures design, 62 healthy women completed (to date) three 3-hour exposure conditions. Subjects were screened for atopy by questionnaire and RAST, and stratified as high and low chemical odor intolerance (CI) based on self-report. VOCs and ozone were maintained in the exposure chamber at 7 ppm and 40 ppb, respectively. The CA exposure was effectively masked with a pulse of VOC mixture (0.7ppm) at the onset of the exposure condition. Symptoms were rated before, during, and after exposure. NAL fluid, collected before and after exposure, was analyzed for PMNs, IL-6 and IL-8. Measurements confirmed the formation of aldehydes and reactive particles during the VOCO condition. We found no significant differences in total symptoms or nasal symptoms between VOCO, VOC and CA conditions, nor did we find differences in markers of nasal inflammation between conditions. There were no increases in these measures for hi- vs. low-CI, or for atopic vs. non-atopic subjects. Effective blinding to the exposure conditions, absent in prior studies showing positive results, may explain the negative symptom findings, but physiologic discrepancies with prior research lack clear explanations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Aldehydes Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Formaldehyde Irritants Nose Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Air-monitoring Air-quality Exposure-levels Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Nasal-disorders Organic-compounds Questionnaires Respiratory-irritants
• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  167
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023123
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2003 Apr; 167(7):A972
• Email:
  laumbach@eohsi.rutgers.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Work Environment and Workforce: Indoor Environment
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2003 International Conference, The American Thoracic Society, Seattle, WA, May 16-21, 2003
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:858f75e227958ca231b05e93386294f55e9ace5562168fe8de63bbf491de40f765d08018fd67ca6fcb3789de43a085686f74cde561c7bb037070859486c5f312
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195725/cdc_195725_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.39 MB ]