title: Residual Perchloroethylene in Dry-Cleaned Acetate: The Effect of Pressing and Extent of Inter-Dry-Cleaner Variability.
abstract: Measurements of residual perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry-cleaning solvent associated with human health effects, were made in dry-cleaned acetate cloth to enable improved characterizations of both occupational and environmental exposure. A limited sample size (25 acetate cloths) was used to explore the extent of inter-dry-cleaner variability in residual PCE and to characterize the effect of the pressing operation on residual PCE. A new method, which uses carbon-disulfide as the direct extracting agent, proved effective in the analysis of residual PCE, with a recovery-efficiency ≈ 75%. Inter-dry-cleaner variability of residual PCE, although marginally statistically significant, was relatively low, showing only a fourfold range compared to a 5-order-of-magnitude range obtained from Kawauchi and Nishiyama1. Pairwise comparison of residual PCE in nonpressed versus pressed acetate samples revealed a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.008), which amounted to a consistent (among dry-cleaners) pressing-related removal efficiency of 75 ± 4%. A preliminary assessment of the source term associated with the pressing operation (mass PCE liberated per kg cloth dry-cleaned, SPCE≈ 30 mg/kg) indicates a minor contribution to the average ambient air concentrations within dry-cleaning establishments.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Kevin P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Christine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Ju-Hyeong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Paulina I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Weker
authors.affiliation: b School of Public Health , Queensland University of Technology , Queensland , Australia , USA.
authors.forename: Kiyoung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: a Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.|c University of Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa