Cleaning Products and Air Freshners: Emissions and Resulting Concentrations of Glycol Ethers and Terpenoids

Experiments were conducted to quantify emissions and concentrations of glycol ethers and terpenoids from cleaning product and air freshener use in a 50-m3 room ventilated at ~0.5 h-1. Five cleaning products were applied full-strength (FS); three were additionally used in dilute solution. FS application of pine-oil cleaner (POC) yielded 1-h concentrations of 10-1300 ìg m-3 for individual terpenoids, including á-terpinene (90-120), d-limonene (1000-1100), terpinolene (900-1300), and á-terpineol (260-700). One-hour concentrations of 2-butoxyethanol and/or d-limonene were 300-6000 µg m-3 after FS use of other products. During FS application including rinsing with sponge and wiping with towels, fractional emissions (mass volatilized / dispensed) of 2-butoxyethanol and d-limonene were 50-100% with towels retained, ~25-50% when towels were removed after cleaning. Lower fractions (2-11%) resulted from dilute use. Fractional emissions of terpenes from FS use of POC were ~35-70% with towels retained, 20-50% with towels removed. During floor cleaning with dilute solution of POC, 7-12% of dispensed terpenes were emitted. Terpene alcohols were emitted at lower fractions: 7-30% (FS, towels retained), 2-9% (FS, towels removed), and 2-5% (dilute). During air-freshener use, d-limonene, dihydromyrcenol, linalool, linalyl acetate, and â-citronellol) were emitted at 35-180 mg d-1 over three days while air concentrations averaged 30-160 µg m-3.