Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Naphthalene is an ubiquitous pollutant in outdoor and indoor air. Being present
in oil and coal, naphthalene may be emitted from combustion devices, indoors as
well as outdoors (Batterman et al.
2012
). Outdoor naphthalene emissions come
primarily from chemical industries such as the production of phthalic anhydride
and the manufacture of phthalate plasticisers, resins, dyes, leather tanning agents,
and insect repellents (Jia and Batterman
2010
). Naphthalene is emitted indoors by
cigarette smoke, moth repellents and deodorisers. Naphthalene may also be
emitted by building materials and furnishings, especially vinyl furniture and
painted walls and ceilings, since naphthalene may be added as a chemical inter-
mediate in the manufacture of such products (Kang et al.
2012
). Sink effect of
naphthalene may also be considered as Heroux et al. (
2008
) reported a decreasing
in naphthalene concentrations in homes with furniture newer than 1 year.
Figure
8
shows average naphthalene indoor and outdoor concentrations
obtained from selected studies. Indoor concentrations of naphthalene are higher
than outdoors, both in residences and buildings (Batterman et al.
2012
; de Blas
et al.
2012
). Naphthalene was found in 90 % of the buildings investigated in the
BASE study (US EPA
2013a
). In the EXPOLIS study, naphthalene was only found
outdoors in 2 % of the samples in Helsinki (Edwards et al.
2001
). In the same
study in Oxford, naphthalene was only found in 8 % of the indoor samples and in
3 % of the outdoor samples (Lai et al.
2004
). The EXPOLIS study also reported
that long-term guideline value of 10 lg/m
3
was exceeded indoor and in personal
exposure in Athens and Prague (Edwards et al.
2005
).
Boxes represent the range of the average concentration of naphthalene from
reviews on indoor pollutants. The first review reported typical average concen-
trations in urban buildings (Kolarik et al.
2012
). A second review on naphthalene
evaluated the literature published since 1990, considering nearly 150 studies and
reporting the ranges represented in the figure as representative from non-smoker's
homes and outdoors in urban areas (Jia and Batterman
2010
). Naphthalene
concentrations
were
within
ranges
reported
in
the
reviews,
except
the
one
Fig. 8 Indoor and outdoor
average concentrations of
naphthalene from selected
studies: (1) EXPOLIS,
Edwards et al. (
2001
), (2)
BASE, US EPA (
2013a
) (3)
Batterman et al. (
2012
), (4)
de Blas et al. (
2012
). Boxes
represent range of
concentration from review
works (Jia and Batterman
2010
; Kolarik et al.
2012
)
100.00
10.00
1.00
0.10
0.01
0.00
Indoor building
Indoor residential
Outdoor
Helsinki, Finland [1]
Cities with popullation >100.000, USA [2]
Southeast Michigan, USA [3]
Bilbao, Spain [4]
