A simple method to measure the gas‐phase SVOC concentration adjacent to a material surface

Assessing human exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) emitted from materials and products is difficult because methods are not available to easily measure the key emission parameters. A simple method based on a passive sampling technique was thus developed to measure the gas‐phase SVOC concentration (y₀) immediately adjacent to the material surface in a consumer product. The method employs standard stainless steel thermal desorption tubes, with values of y₀ and an additional unknown parameter, K, the tube surface/air partition coefficient inside the desorption tube, obtained by fitting a diffusion model to the sampling data. Phthalates in two types of polyvinyl chloride flooring were selected to test the method. The values of y₀ and K agree well with those measured in independent chamber tests. The y₀ measurement method is shown to be applicable to chemicals with a wide range of vapor pressures. This novel method should be useful for assessing potential exposure to SVOCs in consumer products as well as for exposure‐based prioritization of chemicals and their associated products in indoor environments.