Roy W. Whitmore

The Team Study - Personal Exposures to Toxic-Substances in Air, Drinking-Water, and Breath of 400 Residents of New-Jersey, North-Carolina, and North-Dakota:

EPAs TEAM Study has measured exposures to 20 volatile organic compounds in personal air, outdoor air, drinking water, and breath of approximately 400 residents of New Jersey, North Carolina, and North Dakota. All residents were selected by a probability sampling scheme to represent 128,000 inhabitants of Elizabeth and Bayonne, New Jersey, 131,000 residents of Greensboro, North Carolina, and 7000 residents of Devils Lake, North Dakota. Participants carried a personal monitor to collect two 12-hr air samples and gave a breath sample at the end of the day. Two consecutive 12-hr outdoor air samples were also collected on identical Tenax cartridges in the backyards of some of the participants. About 5000 samples were collected, of which 1500 were quality control samples. Ten compounds were often present in personal air and breath samples at all locations. Personal exposures were consistently higher than outdoor concentrations for these chemicals and were sometimes 10 times the outdoor concentrations. Indoor sources appeared to be responsible for much of the difference. Breath concentrations also often exceeded outdoor concentrations and correlated more strongly with personal exposures than with outdoor concentrations. Some activities (smoking, visiting dry cleaners or service stations) and occupations (chemical, paint, and plastics plants) were associated with significantly elevated exposures and breath levels for certain toxic chemicals. Homes with smokers had significantly increased benzene and styrene levels in indoor air. Residence near major point sources did not affect exposure.

The influence of personal activities on exposure to volatile organic compounds

Seven persons volunteered to perform 25 common activities thought to increase personal exposure to volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) during a 3-day monitoring period. Personal, indoor, and outdoor air samples were collected on Tenax cartridges three times per day (evening, overnight, and daytime) and analyzed by GC-MS for 17 target VOCs. Samples of exhaled breath were also collected before and after each monitoring period. About 20 activities resulted in increasing exposure to one or more of the target VOCs, often by factors of 10, sometimes by factors of 100, compared to exposures during the sleep period. These concentrations were far above the highest observed outdoor concentrations during the length of the study. Breath levels were often significantly correlated with previous personal exposures. Major exposures were associated with use of deodorizers (p-dichlorobenzene); washing clothes and dishes (chloroform); visiting a dry cleaners (1,1,1-trichloroethane, tetrachloroethylene); smoking (benzene, styrene); cleaning a car engine (xylenes, ethylbenzene, tetrachloroethylene); painting and using paint remover (n-decane, n-undecane); and working in a scientific laboratory (many VOCs). Continuously elevated indoor air levels of p-dichlorobenzene, trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, decane, and undecane were noted in several homes and attributed to unknown indoor sources. Measurements of exhaled breath suggested biological residence times in tissue of 12-18 hr and 20-30 hr for 1,1,1-trichloroethane and p-dichlorobenzene, respectively.

The California TEAM study: Breath concentrations and personal exposures to 26 volatile compounds in air and drinking water of 188 residents of Los Angeles, Antioch, and Pittsburg, CA

Abstract The U.S. EPA carried out a study of personal exposures to 26 volatile organic chemicals in the air, drinking water, and exhaled breath of 188 California residents in 1984. Sixteen chemicals were often found above quantifiable limits in the personal air samples, but only the four trihalomethanes were often found in drinking water. The highest exposures were to 1,1,1-trichloroethane, para-dichlorobenzene, xylenes, benzene, and tetrachloroethylene. Indoor air concentrations generally exceeded outdoor air concentrations, particularly at the higher percentiles. Breath concentrations of eight chemicals showed significant correlations with preceding personal air concentrations in the two visits to Los Angeles. Smoking, employment, and automobile-related activities were identified as important sources of personal exposure to a number of target compounds.

Comparison of indoor and outdoor residential levels of volatile organic chemicals in five U.S. geographical areas

Abstract Matched pairs of indoor and outdoor air samples from residences in Greensboro, NC; Baton Rouge/ Geismar, LA; Deer Park/Pasadena, TX; Elizabeth/Bayonne, NJ: Antioch/W. Pittsburg, CA; and several small communities in the Los Angeles area were collected and analyzed for over 20 volatile organic compounds during the period from 1981 to 1984. Indoor (I) medians and maximum levels were higher than the corresponding outdoor (O) concentrations over the large majority of chemicals studied. In some cases, e.g., chloroform, dichlorobenzenes, and tetrachloroethylene, the median ratios (I/O) were greater than 10.

Results from the total exposure assessment methodology (Team) study in selected communities in Northern and Southern California

Abstract Volatile organic compound levels (VOCs) in breath, personal air, fixed outdoor air and drinking water samples were measured and compared for a probability sample of individuals in Los Angeles and Antioch/Pittsburg, California during 1984. In addition, comparisons were made between seasons (winter vs spring) in Los Angeles for individuals sampled in both seasons. The statistics presented to compare the sites and seasons were primarily percent measurable and concentration levels (e.g. sample medians). For most comparisons, 13 VOC levels were examined for breath, personal and outdoor air samples and four VOCs for water samples. In addition to the results for VOC levels, the paper also briefly describes 1. (i) the sampling procedures used to obtain the study participants 2. (ii) the collection of air, breath and water samples 3. (iii) selected results from the quality assurance procedures used in this study. For most chemicals, the percent measurable and concentration levels were 1. (i) higher in personal air samples than in breath or outdoor air samples, 2. (ii) higher in Los Angeles in the winter for air and breath than in the, spring, 3. (iii) higher in Los Angeles for air and breath than in Antioch/Pittsburg, 4. (iv) quite different for water as compared with air and breath. Ubiquitous compounds in water were chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform while in air and breath they were 1,1,1-trichloroethane, benzene, tetrachloroethylene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes. Concentrations were higher in 1. (i) outdoor air vs breath in the winter in Los Angeles (where outdoor air levels were much higher than in the spring), 2. (ii) in personal air vs outdoor air in the upper tails of the concentration distribution (90th percentile) compared to the 50th percentile. For the water samples, relatively high concentrations were noted for chloroform, bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane. In most cases, water concentrations were higher for Los Angeles in the spring. Five VOCs known to be in tobacco smoke (benzene, styrene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes) had significantly higher levels in the breath of smokers.

Comparison of volatile organic levels between sites and seasons for the total exposure assessment methodology (TEAM) study

Abstract Comparisons were made between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath, personal air, fixed-site outdoor air and water samples from a probability (random) sample of individuals in Bayonne/Elizabeth, New Jersey; Los Angeles and Pittsburg/Antioch, California; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Devils Lake, North Dakota. In addition, comparisons were made between seasons in the Bayonne/Elizabeth and Los Angeles sites where the same individuals were sampled in two seasons. The most striking differences between sites and seasons were in outdoor air samples. For this medium the concentrations in Los Angeles in the winter season were much higher than in Bayonne/Elizabeth, New Jersey in the winter. However, in the summer season this difference was not evident due to a dramatic decrease in VOC levels in Los Angeles in the summer. Outdoor VOC levels in Greensboro and Devils Lake were usually dramatically lower than both Bayonne/Elizabeth and the California sites. Concentration levels for the breath and personal air samples were usually higher in the winter than the spring or summer. This was particularly true in Los Angeles for personal air samples. For the breath samples, this pattern was not clearcut and, in fact, Bayonne/Elizabeth tended to have higher concentrations in the summer. For water samples, Devils Lake had particularly low VOC levels. Bromoform, which was found in California samples, was almost never present in Bayonne/Elizabeth, Greensboro and Devils Lake samples.

Estimation of upper centile concentrations using historical atrazine monitoring data from community water systems.

A survey sampling approach is presented for estimating upper centiles of aggregate distributions of surface water pesticide measurements obtained from datasets with large sample sizes but variable sampling frequency. It is applied to three atrazine monitoring programs of Community Water Systems (CWS) that used surface water as their drinking water source: the nationwide Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) data, the Syngenta Voluntary Monitoring Program (VMP), and the Atrazine Monitoring Program (AMP).The VMP/AMP CWS were selected on the basis of atrazine monitoring history (CWS having at least one annual average concentration from SDWA ≥ 1.6 ppb atrazine since 1997 in the AMP). Estimates of the raw water 95th, 99th, and 99.9th centile atrazine concentrations for the VMP/AMP CWS are 4.82, 11.85, and 34.00 ppb, respectively. The corresponding estimates are lower for the finished drinking water samples, with estimates of 2.75, 7.94, and 22.66 ppb, respectively. Finished water centile estimates for the VMP/AMP CWS using only the SDWA data for these sites are consistent with the results. Estimates are provided for the April through July period and for CWS based on surface water source type (static, flowing, or mixed). Requisite sample sizes are determined using statistical tolerance limits, relative SE, and the Woodruff interval sample size criterion. These analyses provide 99.9% confidence that the existing data include the 99.9th centile atrazine concentration for CWS raw and finished water in the Midwest atrazine high-use areas and in the nationwide SDWA dataset. The general validity of this approach is established by a simulation that shows estimates to be close to target quantities for weights based on sampling probabilities or time intervals between samples. Recommendations are given for suitable effective sample sizes to reliably determine interval estimates.

Industrial surface impoundments: environmental settings, release and exposure potential and risk characterization

This paper presents the results of a national scale evaluation of the environmental impact of surface impoundments that contain non-hazardous wastewaters. In the 1990s, it was found that approximately 18,000 surface impoundments existed in the US for treating, storing or disposing of non-hazardous wastewater. In this study, the focus was on the subset of 11,900 impoundments that contain at least one of 256 chemicals of interest or high or low pH wastewater. Questionnaires were sent to facilities chosen in a two-phase nationally representative random sample. The nature, extent and use of surface impoundments across manufacturing industries were characterized using the information collected in the survey. Also, the chemical composition of impounded wastewaters; the potential for chemical releases to the environment from the impoundments; and the risk from these releases were assessed. It is estimated that only approximately 5-6% of facilities with impoundments have the potential to pose risks to human health, although approximately 19-46% of facilities with impoundments release chemicals of concern to the environment. The information in this study should help environmental managers evaluate and avoid those risk factors that have the potential to result in environmental harm, particularly when present in combination.

Design of Surveys for Residential and Personal Monitoring of Hazardous Substances

Abstract This paper reviews survey design methodology for large-scale residential and personal monitoring studies designed to make inferences to target populations. Four monitoring studies conducted recently in the United States that utilized two-phase sampling designs are cited as illustrations of the methodology. Recommendations for efficient statistical design of such monitoring studies are presented.

Use of Geographically Classified Telephone Directory Lists in Multi-Mode Surveys

Abstract Commercially available telephone directory lists, classified by block groups and enumeration districts, can be used in association with area frames for area household sampling. Some advantages and disadvantages of using such lists as sampling frames for multi-mode (telephone and in-person) surveys are discussed. Two recently completed studies that used such methodology are cited. Recommendations are presented concerning the use of such telephone directory lists in the design of area household surveys.