title: Occurrence of linear and cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes in indoor air samples (UK and Italy) and their isotopic characterization.
abstract: The occurrence of linear- and cyclic-volatile methyl siloxanes (lVMSs and cVMSs, respectively) in various indoor environments, occupational and domestic, in Italy and in the United Kingdom was studied. The results show that the cVMSs are the most abundant, detected in average concentrations that in some cases were as high as 170μgm(-3). Our study highlights the differences that can be observed between various indoor environments (e.g. domestic like bathrooms, bedrooms, or occupational) and between two countries. In most cases, the concentrations found in the UK are higher than in the respective indoor environments in Italy. The assessment of exposure to these two countries for adults and children revealed significant differences both not only in the levels of exposure, but also in the patterns. In Italy, the biggest part of the exposure to VMSs takes place domestically, whereas in the UK, it is observed for occupational environments. Additionally, the compound specific isotopic analysis was employed as a source identification technique. The results are promising mainly for D5 that occurs in higher concentrations, but not for the less abundant lVMSs and cVMSs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pieri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katsoyiannis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martellini
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cincinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D012833:Siloxanes / Q000032:analysis*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012833:Siloxanes; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: CSIA; D4; D5; Exposure assessment; Indoor air; Siloxanes