VOC Exposures in a Mixed-Use University Art Building

Despite a sizable educational art enterprise in the United States there is a dearth of rigorously performed studies of exposures to persons engaged in such activities. Exposures to 45 EPA-designated volatile organic compounds were examined in printmakers in a mixed-use university art school served by a 100% exhausted mechanical ventilation system. Personal exposures (n=90) were compared with area concentrations (n=36) in the studio area and at a second location at the same facility. For personal exposure assessments a cohort of 12 students wore passive dosimeters twice weekly over a 6-week period. Numerous compounds were found, the most prevalent being toluene at an average concentration of 64.6 µg/m3 (17.1 ppb; range <1–319 ppb); 1,1,1, trichloroethane at 40.5 µg/m3 (7.5 ppb; range <1–211 ppb); xylenes at 8.0 µg/m3 (1.8 ppb; range <1–43 ppb); 1,3,5-trimethyl benzene at 6.2 µg/m3 (1.3 ppb; range <.3–32 ppb); propyl benzene at 5.0 µg/m3 (1.0 ppb; range <.5–27 ppb); methylene chloride at 4.9 µg/m3 (1.4 ppb;...