Personal volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure of children attending elementary schools adjacent to industrial complex

The major deficiency in linking the effects of environmental exposure to childrenʹs health is the lack of data on the exposure of children to hazardous environmental pollutants. Accordingly, the present study compared the personal volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure of children from four elementary schools at different proximities to the Daegu Dyeing Industrial Complex (DDIC) and adjacent to different traffic densities. The personal air concentrations of four VOCs (toluene, m,p-xylenes, and o-xylene) were significantly higher for the children attending the school (S1) closest to the boundary of the DDIC compared to the children attending the school (S2) further away. The DDIC was the likely primary cause for the elevated personal air concentrations of the four VOCs in the children attending the school nearest the DDIC. The personal exposure to toluene and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) for the children attending the school near a major roadway with a high traffic density was significantly higher than that for the children attending the school near a roadway with a low traffic density. The difference in the breath concentrations was generally similar to the difference in the personal air concentrations among the children from the four schools. In contrast to the children attending schools in low-income areas, the children attending schools in high-income areas exhibited no significant difference in the concentrations of any of the target VOCs in the personal air and breath samples between the children living with and without a smoker in the home.