Organic pollutants in indoor dust: method development, site-specific monitoring and human exposure
[eng] Dust has been used as a surrogate of indoor organic contamination for several decades. Their concerns for human health include from sensitization effects such as allergies to toxic effects derived from those organic pollutants adsorbed to the dust particles, such as neurotoxicity, endocrine di...
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| Formato: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2019 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/145118 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/145118 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/667906 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Pols Contaminació Cromatografia de gasos Espectrometria de masses Dust Pollution Gas chromatography Mass spectrometry |
| Resumo: | [eng] Dust has been used as a surrogate of indoor organic contamination for several decades. Their concerns for human health include from sensitization effects such as allergies to toxic effects derived from those organic pollutants adsorbed to the dust particles, such as neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption and carcinogenic responses. Given that nowadays people spend more than a 90% of their time indoors, the exposure to this cocktail of pollutants is a challenge that must be handled. The present PhD thesis project develop instrumental methods for the quantitative analysis of the levels of organic pollutants using indoor dust as matrix and evaluate human exposure and risk by using the so-obtained empirical data and theoretical calculations. To do so, a multi-residue extraction method based on solid-liquid and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and a gas chromatography method coupled to tandem mass spectrometry were set up (article 1). This allowed to detected almost 100% of the studied compounds in different indoor ambients along Barcelona (public and private environments, article 2) and the Ecuadorian Amazonia (dwellings surrounding petrochemical complexes, article 3). The encountered levels of the organic pollutants draw a big picture about the legacy and current uses of such chemical compounds. They are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), polychlorinated biphenils (PCBs), organochlorinated pesticides (OCs), phthalates, alkylphenols (APs), bisphenol A (BPA) and nicotine, all of them selected on a basis of their toxic effects and widespread use worldwide. Article 4 focuses on the development of a novel method to assess exposure to organic pollutants through inhalation. It is a non-invasive technique that consists on nasal lavages of the inner part of the nose. Thus, intake of pollutants is evaluated and a common pattern between occurrence in dust and nasal lavages can be easily observed, which suggests a strong influence of dust contamination over the human exposure to these organic pollutants. As a whole, the present PhD thesis outlines a connection among environmental analytical chemistry and other disciplines such as exposure science or environmental epidemiology. It attempts to serve as a tool to other knowledge areas and social groups to improve the understanding of the accumulation of organic pollutants in indoor dust and the related human exposure and disease. |
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