Indoor exposure to disinfecting chemicals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Zheng, Guomao

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109895 Copy

Description

Title

Indoor exposure to disinfecting chemicals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author(s)

Zheng, Guomao

Issue Date

2021-04-28

Keyword(s)

• virus
• COVID
• COVID-19
• disinfection

Abstract

Presented by: Guomao Zheng – Postdoc at Indiana University, gzheng@iu.edu Co-authors: Gabriel M. Filippelli, Amina Salamova Abstract: Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or “quats”) make up a class of chemicals used as disinfectants in cleaning and other consumer products. While disinfection is recommended for maintaining a safe environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased use of QACs is concerning as exposure to these compounds has been associated with adverse effects on reproductive and respiratory systems. We have determined the occurrence of 19 QACs in residential dust collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. QACs were detected in >90% of the samples collected during the pandemic at concentrations ranging from 1.95 to 531 μg/g (n = 40; median of 58.9 μg/g). The total QAC concentrations in these samples were significantly higher than in samples collected before the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.05; n = 21; median of 36.3 μg/g). Higher QAC concentrations were found in households that generally disinfected more frequently (p < 0.05). Disinfecting products commonly used in these homes were analyzed, and the QAC profiles in dust and in products were similar, suggesting that these products can be a significant source of QACs. Our findings indicate that indoor exposure to QACs is widespread and has increased during the pandemic. Biography: Guomao is an environmental chemist, committed to applying cutting-edge instruments to study human exposure to emerging contaminants and how these chemicals do in our body. Guomao’s research interests are human exposure, metabolic toxicity and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Series/Report Name or Number

2021 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC21)

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

Language

en

Permalink

• http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109895
• https://youtu.be/oO1oD8RurBI

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