Measurements of exhaled breath using a new portable sampling method

Breath measurements offer the potential for a direct and noninvasive evaluation of human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the environments in which people live and work. The research study was conducted to further develop the potential of this exposure assessment methodology. A new alveolar breath measurement technique was developed and tested. Air samples were collected in 32 microenvironments and above 6 consumer products to determine a few potential sources of human exposures to selected VOCs. Elimination half-lives were estimated using a mono- and biexponential model. The alveolar breath collection and analysis methodology proved to be very useful for collecting many samples in short time intervals and this capability was very important for accurately describing the initial phase of the decay curves. Analysis of microenvironment air samples from homes, businesses, workplaces, vehicles, etc., revealed a wide range of potential sources of human exposures to VOCs at concentrations from 1 to 16,000 microg/cu m.