Results Under Normal Chamber Conditions, all 3 carpet samples meet GLP standards. Carpet 3 emits VOCs at the highest overall rate; Carpet 1 emits at the lowest rate.

(GLP, 2015)

m/z PTR-MS

GC-MS I.D. Carpet 1 Source Rate(µg/m2*hr)

Carpet 2Source Rate(µg/m2*hr)

Carpet 3Source Rate(µg/m2*hr)

CRI GLP standard(µg/m2*hr)

31 x Formaldehyde (assumed) 8.33 8.15 6.91 1733 x Methanol (assumed) 2.50 0.84 1.9143 x 5.97 13.72 17.4645 x Acetaldehyde 7.15 7.14 12.08 13147 x Ethanol 4.01 7.72 4.9657 x 2-Butene, (E)- 2.42 21.39 22.0159 x Acetone 2.42 5.24 5.4761 x Isopropyl Alcohol 18.56 18.70 33.0969 x 1.07 7.32 11.4873 Pentane 0.11 0.76 0.7975 2-Butanol,(R)- 0.21 0.59 0.6077 Carbon Disulfide 0.15 0.18 0.18 75091 Trimethylsilanol 0.10 0.19 0.1895 Phenol 0.86 7.55 6.09 188136 D-Limonene 0.01 0.04 0.03

x indicates a concentration of >0.7 ppbv measured by the PTR-MS under Treatment 1

Table 1. selected masses and their likely identities, emission rates from each carpet under Treatment 1, and CRI GLP standard emission rates.

VOC Concentration[µg/m2*hr]

U.S. EPA Guideline [µg/m2*hr]

OEHHA Guideline [µg/m2*hr]

Health Canada Guideline [µg/m2*hr]

WHO Guideline[µg/m2*hr]

Formaldehyde 10.53 9 [C] 9 [C] 50 [8] 120 [A]Methanol 3.28 4000 [C]Acetaldehyde 9.39 300 [8],

140 [C]Carbon Disulfide 0.16 400 [C] 800 [C]

Cari L. Gostic1,2, Dr. Tom Jobson2, Yibo Huangfu2

1Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2Washington State University, Pullman, WA

A Quantification of VOC Emissions from Carpet in a Residence with a High Level of Formaldehyde

Introduction and Motivation The Indoor Air Quality [IAQ] Study at Washington State University seeks to better understand the link between IAQ and climate change. Volatile Organic Compounds [VOCs] are common indoor air pollutants that could

become more dangerous as building envelopes tighten, for many VOCs are respiratory irritants or carcinogens at high concentrations. A 30 ppbv concentration of formaldehyde was measured in a local residence [H002] as part of WSU’s IAQ study, and carpet is suspected as a major source of this VOC. This project seeks to answer the following questions:

Is carpet a significant contributor to high formaldehyde levels measured in H002?How do VOC emissions from Carpet 1 compare to new, “Green Label Plus” [GLP] certified carpets?

How do elevated O3 concentrations and exposure to UV light affect VOC emissions from carpet?

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation’s REU program under grant number AGS-1461292

Conclusions

1. All 3 carpets emit VOCs within GLP standards, though elevated O3 levels, high temperatures or exposure to UV light increases emissions of some VOCs.

2. Though Carpet 1 emits within GLP standards, emissions from Carpet 1 alone likely cause unhealthy levels of formaldehyde in Room 1 of H002 according to chronic exposure levels cited by the U.S. EPA.

3. The estimated 10.53 µg/m3 (9.67 ppbv) concentration of formaldehyde due to emissions from Carpet 1 account for 32% of the 30 ppbv concentration measured as part of Washington State’s IAQ Study. Carpet likely contributes significantly to unhealthy formaldehyde levels in H002, but is not the only factor.

ReferencesGLP Emissions Criteria. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.carpet-

rug.org/Documents/GLP/GLP-Emissions-Criteria.pdf

Introduction to VOCS and Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/voc-intro

Masters, G. P. (2007). Air Quality. In Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science (pp. 484-485). Prentice Hall.

OEHHA Acute, 8-hour and Chronic Reference Exposure Level (REL) Summary. (2014). Retrieved from http://oehha.ca.gov/air/general-info/oehha-acute-8-hour-and-chronic-reference-exposure-level-rel-summary

Zero-Air Inlet

Air OutletFans

To PTR-MS

Chamber Side 1 Chamber Side 2Figure 6. Chamber diagram

Methods

Figure 1. Carpet 1 PTR-MS Reading

Figure 2. Carpet 1 GC-MS Analysis

Ca : Ambient Concentration = 0 V : conditioned volume = 0.1482 m3 (chamber); 40.78 m3 (Room 1)K : pollutant decay rate = 0 n : air change rate = 4.05 hr -1 (chamber); 0.25 hr -1 (Room 1)

Measurements:1) Used PTR-MS [Ionicon Analytik] to quantify carpet emissions under 3 treatments (Fig 1) in 148.2 L Teflon chamber with stainless steel rack (Fig 6)

• Treatment 1- Normal chamber conditions; 10 L/min zero-air inflow, ambient RH and temperature (21oC)

• Treatment 2- Elevated O3; 26 ppb achieved in chamber [InDevR 2B Technologies, Inc. Ozone Calibration Source; Model 306]

• Treatment 3- UV radiation (7.5 mW/cm2) [GE 15W blacklights]

2) Used GC-MS [Agilent Technologies 7890B] to further identify compounds emitted by carpet samples and to verify PTR-MS measurements (Fig 2)

Samples:• Carpet 1- From Room 1 in H002 (Fig 3). Material makeup unknown.

Reported as 3 years old.• Carpet 2- Solution dyed BCF nylon fiber. GLP certified. New.• Carpet 3- Solution dyed BCF polyester fibers. GLP certified. New.

H002 VOC Concentration Calculations:

Equation 1.

Acetaldehyde

Pentane Ethanol

Acetone

Silanol, trimethyl-

Phenol2-Butanol, (R)-

D-Limonene

The table below shows estimated concentrations of selected VOCs in Room 1 compared to guidelines cited by national and international health agencies. Only Formaldehyde exceeds suggested levels. Most identified VOCs are not recognized as indoor air toxics.

(Introduction, n.d.); (OEHHA, 2014)

Table 2. Estimated steady state concentrations of selected VOCs in Room 1 and guidelines cited by national and international health agencies.

[C] = chronic exosure, [A] = acute exposure, [8] = 8 hour exposure

m31 – Formaldehyde m33 – Methanolm43 – unknownm45 – Acetaldehydem47 – Ethanolm57 – 2-Butene, (E)-m59 – Acetonem61 – Isopropyl Alcoholm69 – unknown

Using Equation 1, calculated source rate (S) for each VOC with Carpet 1 steady state mixing ratio (C) chamber measurement. Steady state concentration (C) of each VOC in Room 1 is then estimated using calculated S.

Figure 3: H002 first floor blueprint.

Under Elevated O3, VOCs that decrease in concentration are likely reactants in the production of secondary emissions (VOCs that increase in concentration).

Figure 4. Comparison of VOC mixing ratios for the 3 carpet samples obtained for Treatments 1 and 2.

ppbv

m/z

Concentration of selected masses in chamber (Normal conditions vs. O3)

UV Radiation caused concentrations of most VOCs to increase. Response could be influenced by temperature: increase from 21oC to 32oC under UV lights.

Figure 5. Compares concentrations of VOCs under Treatments 1, 2 and 3

ppbv

m/z

Concentration of selected masses in chamber (Normal conditions vs. O3 vs. UV)

(GLP, 2015)