Personal exposures, indoor and outdoor air concentrations, and exhaled breath concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds measured for 600 residents of New Jersey, North Dakota, North Carolina and California†

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Abstract
EPA's TEAM Study has measured exposures to 20 volatile organic compounds in personal air, outdoor air, drinking water, and breath of 600 residents of New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, and California. All participants were selected by a probability sampling scheme to represent a total of 700,000 inhabitants of seven cities. Participants carried a personal monitor to collect two 12‐hour air samples and gave a breath sample at the end of the day. Two consecutive 12‐hour outdoor air samples were also collected on identical Tenax cartridges in the backyards of some of the participants. About 7500 samples were collected, of which 2000 were quality control samples. Eleven compounds were often present in air. Personal exposures were consistently higher than outdoor concentrations. Indoor sources appeared responsible for much of the difference. Breath concentrations also usually exceeded outdoor concentrations, and correlated more strongly with personal exposures than with outdoor concentrations. Some activities (smoking, visiting dry cleaners or service stations) and occupations (chemical, paint, and plastics plants) were associated with significantly elevated exposures and breath levels for certain toxic chemicals. Residence near major point sources did not affect exposure.