IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

We conducted a literature review to gain insight into the European state-of-the-art of plasticizer research in indoor environments. This review focused on indoor plasticizer concentrations in the gas and sorbed phases and source material emissions. We found that indoor plasticizer exposure studies started in the year 2000. Residential and educational buildings were the most common locations for field studies, representing 65 % and 24 % of the total indoor samples, respectively. Settled dust, which accounted for 74 % of the indoor samples, was the most frequently studied matrix. Vinyl flooring and plastic products were the most studied source materials, representing 52 % and 20 % of the source samples, respectively.

Studies conducted in other indoor environments or for other source materials were rare. Phthalates were the most studied plasticizers. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP, 0.8–3214 μg/g), diisononyl phthalate (DiNP, 0.3–955 μg/g), and dibutyl phthalate (DnBP, 0.02–799 μg/g) had the highest median/mean concentrations in settled dust among all the studies. DnBP (42–2432 ng/m3), diethyl phthalate (DEP, 4–1300 ng/m3), dimethyl phthalate (DMP, 1–1221), and DEHP (4–916 ng/m3) had the highest median/mean concentrations in the air among all the studies. Regional and temporal variations were observed, with a decrease in concentration over time for certain phthalates, such as DEHP and DEP, and an increase in concentration for some non-phthalate plasticizers, such as bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT). This data inventory provides a base for future exposure assessments for the general population in the EU project Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC).