Predicting chemical emissions from household cleaning and personal care products: A review

Abstract Chemicals in household cleaning and personal care products (HCPs and PCPs) can be released into the indoor air primarily during and after product use, leading to human exposures to these chemicals via inhalation and dermal contact. Thus, HCPs and PCPs are a group of important intermittent sources, contributing to chemical emissions in the indoor environment. To characterize emissions more accurately, we reviewed three types of emission models from 18 studies for HCPs and PCPs, i.e., models based on evaporation, on convective mass transfer, and on diffusion. While the three types of models present different levels of complexity, they cover a variety of application scenarios. We also summarized some important input parameters for the models, i.e., the frequency and quantity of use of HCPs and PCPs, and the chemical's evaporation rate and diffusion coefficient. The frequency and quantity of use for many types of products, including shampoo, hand soap and deodorant show some consistency among different studies. Our review of these model inputs reveals a promising basis for further improvement of emission models for HCPs and PCPs.