Browsing by Author "Akmermer, Zülfikar"

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    Master Thesis
    Investigation of a Novel Personal Sampler Material for the Identification of Human Exposure To Semivolatile Organic Compounds
    (2024) Akmermer, Zülfikar; Demirtepe, Hale; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; 03.07. Department of Environmental Engineering; 03. Faculty of Engineering; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology
    SVOCs are widespread indoors, where they occur at high levels. Humans spend most of their time indoors and are regularly exposed to these compounds. Various methods exist to assess human exposure to SVOCs. However, a novel personal sampler material, i.e. silicone wristband, has been used for the last decade. Due to its commencing use, the uptake capacity of silicone wristbands for SVOCs still needs to be discovered. This study aims to investigate the SVOC uptake rate and equilibrium partitioning coefficients of silicone wristbands. To achieve this aim, an analysis method for determining SVOCs in silicone wristbands was developed and validated with wristbands worn by academic personnel of IZTECH. The results showed that among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) acenaphthylene, among organophosphate esters (OPEs), tris (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate and among phthalate esters, di(2- ethylhexl) phthalate were found as the dominant SVOCs in silicone wristbands. Then, the uptake capacity of silicone wristbands for PAHs was investigated by deploying them in a school environment for 36 days, together with polyurethane foam passive air samplers. The uptake rates varied three orders of magnitude for compounds reaching equilibrium, i.e. acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and anthracene (0.010 – 25.93 m3/day), while for fluoranthene, chrysene, and pyrene uptake rates were close to each other (0.17 – 0.50 m3/day). Furthermore, silicone wristband-air partitioning coefficients were in the range of 5.93 to 7.43 for acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and anthracene. Lastly, daily and chronic toxic exposures and lifetime cancer risk for school children were assessed using PUF-PAS concentrations, and no significant risk was identified.