Long-term monitoring of indoor, outdoor, and personal exposure to gaseous chemical compounds.

Seasonal variations of chemical compounds in indoor air and outdoor air and personal exposure to these chemicals were continuously monitored for 6 years using four types of passive sampling devices: PSD-BPE/DNPH packed with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and trans-1,2-bis(2-pyridyl)ethylene coated silica for ozone and carbonyls; PSD-VOC packed with Carboxen 572 or Active Carbon Beads particles for volatile organic compounds; PSD-TEA packed with triethanolamine impregnated silica for acid gases; and PSD-TEA packed with phosphoric acid impregnated silica for basic gases. Many chemical compounds except for nitrogen dioxide, formic acid, and benzene showed seasonal variations with high concentrations in summer and low concentrations in winter. In particular, formaldehyde, nonanal, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate, and ammonia concentrations showed remarkable seasonal variation.

Health Risk Assessment Based on Exposure to Chemicals in Air.

Few studies have investigated personal exposure concentrations of not only some volatile organic compounds but also more types of chemicals including acidic gases and acrolein. We measured the personal exposure concentrations of 35 chemicals including these chemicals in indoor and outdoor air in Chiba-shi, Japan, for 7 days in summer and winter to assess the associated health risks in 22 people. The personal exposure concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were higher in winter than in summer, and those of formaldehyde, -dichlorobenzene, and tetradecane were higher in summer than in winter.

Spatial Variations of Indoor Air Chemicals in an Apartment Unit and Personal Exposure of Residents.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) can greatly affect health in people spending much time indoors. However, the influence of IAQ on personal exposure to chemical compounds in Japan remains poorly investigated. Hence, this study aimed to clarify this influence thoroughly within one apartment.

Analysis of furans and pyridines from new generation heated tobacco product in Japan.

Background: In recent years, heated tobacco products (HTPs), which are widely used in Japan, have been sold by various brands using additives such as flavors. It has been reported that the components of mainstream smoke are different from those of conventional cigarettes. In this study, we established an analytical method for furans and pyridines in the mainstream smoke, which are characteristic of HTPs and particularly harmful among the generated components, and investigated the amount of component to which the smokers are exposed.

Simple Ozone Scrubber Using a Glass Fiber Filter Impregnated with Hydroquinone for the Quantitative Analysis of Ambient Air Samples.

As a standard method for measuring the concentration of carbonyl compounds in air, 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) derivatization followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is widely used. However, the method is often plagued by interference issues related to the ozone content in ambient air samples. Although the use of a potassium iodide (KI) scrubber circumvents these problems, the combination of a DNPH-coated silica cartridge and KI scrubber often performs poorly, particularly in high humidity.

A Newly Developed Aerosol Exposure Apparatus for Heated Tobacco Products for In Vivo Experiments Can Deliver Both Particles and Gas Phase With High Recovery and Depicts the Time-Dependent Variation in Nicotine Metabolites in Mouse Urine.

Introduction: There is no standardized aerosol exposure apparatus to deliver heated tobacco products (HTPs) for in vivo experiments. Therefore, we developed a novel HTPs aerosol exposure apparatus for mice and demonstrated that nicotine and other chemicals in HTPs aerosol generated by the apparatus can be delivered to mice which replicate human smoke.

Aims And Methods: The amounts of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide (CO) in IQOS (Marlboro Regular HeatSticks) aerosol generated by two types of apparatuses were determined.

Indoor Formaldehyde Concentration, Personal Formaldehyde Exposure and Clinical Symptoms during Anatomy Dissection Sessions, University of Medicine 1, Yangon.

The formaldehyde (FA) embalming method, the world's most common protocol for the fixation of cadavers, has been consistently used in medical universities in Myanmar. This study was designed to examine the indoor FA concentrations in anatomy dissection rooms, an exposed site, and lecture theater, an unexposed control site, and to access personal exposure levels of FA and clinical symptoms of medical students and instructors. In total, 208 second year medical students (1/2019 batch) and 18 instructors from Department of Anatomy, University of Medicine 1, participated.

Determination of Thermal Decomposition Products Generated from E-Cigarettes.

An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is a product used to smoke aerosol by heating a solution of "e-liquid" that consists of propylene glycol (PG) and glycerol (GLY) containing nicotine and flavors. In this study, thermal decomposition products generated from three brands of e-cigarettes were determined at various electric power levels. When using neat PG or GLY instead of e-liquid, propylene oxide was detected only in the gas phase from PG and not detected from GLY.

A novel analytical method for simple and low-cost detection of isocyanates in ambient air.

In this study, we developed a novel method for the collection of gaseous and particulate isocyanates in the air using di-n-butylamine (DBA)-coated glass fiber filters and a cation-exchange column (GFF_SCX-DBA) sampler. Our method showed acceptable linearity, accuracy, and precision in the analysis of eleven kinds of isocyanates (ICA, MIC, EIC, PIC, PHI, 1,6-HDI, 2,4-TDI, 2,6-TDI, trans-IPDI, cis-IPDI, and 4,4'-MDI). And, some of them were detected in the air at the plant manufacturing isocyanates and spray polyurethane foam.

Simple Determination of Gaseous and Particulate Compounds Generated from Heated Tobacco Products.

As a new form of cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs) have been rapidly distributed worldwide. In this study, an improved method for analyzing gaseous and particulate compounds generated from HTPs is described. Smoke is collected using a GF-CX572 sorbent cartridge with 300 mg of carbon molecular sieves, that is, Carboxen 572 (CX572), and a 9 mm glass-fiber filter (GF).

Analysis of isocyanates in indoor dust.

Isocyanates are harmful semi-volatile organic compounds that are emitted from various consumer products like polyurethane foam-based mattresses. Although it is a concern that isocyanates might accumulate in indoor dust, causing infants and toddlers, in particular, to be exposed to them, little information is available on the levels of isocyanates in the indoor environment. In this study, we investigated the suitability of an analytical method for determining the presence and level of isocyanates in the indoor dust.

Spectrophotometric determination of ammonia levels in tobacco fillers of and sidestream smoke from different cigarette brands in Japan.

Background: The ammonia contained in tobacco fillers and mainstream and sidestream cigarette smoke accelerates nicotine dependence in cigarette smokers. Ammonia has been included in the non-exhaustive priority list of 39 tobacco components and emissions of cigarette published by the World Health Organization (WHO) Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation. The development of a simple ammonia detection method will contribute to the establishment of tobacco product regulation under tobacco control policies and allow surveys to be conducted, even by laboratories with small research budgets.

Comparison of Chemicals in Mainstream Smoke in Heat-not-burn Tobacco and Combustion Cigarettes.

Because of the health effects of secondhand smoke, the Japanese government is trying to establish an effective law for total avoidance of secondhand smoke in indoor environments for tobacco-free Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games 2020, as requested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Meanwhile, Philip Morris International has begun selling a new heat-not-burn tobacco, iQOS, which it claims is designed not to produce secondhand smoke. There is little scientific data, however, of the hazards and toxicity of iQOS.

Determination of Chemical Compounds Generated from Second-generation E-cigarettes Using a Sorbent Cartridge Followed by a Two-step Elution Method.

We developed an analytical method for analyzing electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) smoke, and measured the carbonyl compounds and volatile organic compounds generated by 10 brands of second-generation E-cigarettes. A glass filter (Cambridge filter pad) for particulate matter and a solid sorbent tube packed with Carboxen-572 for gaseous compounds were used to collect E-cigarette smoke. These were then analyzed using a two-step elution method with carbon disulfide and methanol, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

[Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Mutagenicity of Mainstream Smoke and Heavy Metals in Tobacco Filler of Cigarettes of a Brand in Japan and Cigarettes of the Same Brand Imported Privately from Other Asian Countries].

Objective: Some Japanese smokers imported Japanese cigarette brands from other Asian countries for personal use because of the increase in tobacco tax in 2010, which meant that privately importing the cigarettes was cheaper than purchasing them in Japan. We assumed that the health hazards of locally made cigarettes were different from those of privately imported cigarettes, despite the brands being the same. In this study, we carried out a comparative toxicological analysis of domestic and privately imported cigarettes.

[Measurement of Nicotine, Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines, and Additives in the Filler and Gas from Japanese Brand Snuff].

Objective: The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) reported that understanding the use and impact of smokeless tobacco (SLT) products is complicated by product diversity. Many different SLT products with different characteristics are used worldwide. ZERO STYLE STIX(TM) (sold by Japan Tobacco Inc.

Determination of nicotine, tar, volatile organic compounds and carbonyls in mainstream cigarette smoke using a glass filter and a sorbent cartridge followed by the two-phase/one-pot elution method with carbon disulfide and methanol.

We have developed a new analytical method for the determination of nicotine, tar, volatile organic compounds and carbonyls in main-stream cigarette smoke using a sorbent cartridge packed with Carboxen 572 (CX-572) and a Cambridge filter pad (CFP) followed by the two-phase/one-pot elution method. A CX-572 cartridge is installed between the intake of the CFP and the pump of the smoking machine. Gaseous compounds collected with the CX-572 cartridge and total particulate matter (TPM) collected with the CFP are coeluted simultaneously in the same vial and then analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatograph-thermal conductivity detector (GC/TCD).

Assessment of inhalation exposure to indoor air pollutants: Screening for health risks of multiple pollutants in Japanese dwellings.

Over the past few decades, multiple low level indoor pollutants have been found in domestic dwellings. The types and concentrations of these indoor pollutants have not been consistent over time and have changed with alterations in lifestyle, the development of novel products used in housing, and the development of new measurement technologies. To clarify the highest risk pollutants for which health risks should be reduced, we conducted a health risk assessment of 49 indoor air pollutants measured in 602 houses during winter and summer from 2012 to 2014.

[Measurement of Chemical Compounds in Indoor and Outdoor Air in Chiba City Using Diffusive Sampling Devices].

Objectives: Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a major concern, because people on average spend the vast majority of their time indoors and they are repeatedly exposed to indoor air pollutants. In this study, to assess indoor air quality in Chiba City, gaseous chemical compounds were surveyed using four types of diffusive sampler.

Methods: Gaseous chemical compounds such as carbonyls, volatile organic compounds (VOC), acid gases, basic gases, and ozone were measured in indoor and outdoor air of 50 houses throughout Chiba City in winter and summer.

[The need for tobacco control in Japan based on Articles 9 and 10 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), regulation of the contents of tobacco products, and regulation of tobacco product disclosures].

In Japan, ultralow-nicotine cigarette brands with ventilation holes on the cigarette filters have been widely marketed to smokers. The use of these cigarette brands leads to compensation smoking. Menthol cigarette brands that have a cooling and numbing effect are also sold.

Gaseous chemical compounds in indoor and outdoor air of 602 houses throughout Japan in winter and summer.

A nationwide survey of indoor air quality in Japan was conducted using four types of diffusive samplers. Gaseous chemical compounds such as carbonyls, volatile organic compounds (VOC), acid gases, basic gases, and ozone were measured in indoor and outdoor air of 602 houses throughout Japan in winter and summer. Four kinds of diffusive samplers were used in this study: DSD-BPE/DNPH packed with 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine and trans-1,2-bis(2-pyridyl)ethylene coated silica for ozone and carbonyls; VOC-SD packed with Carboxen 564 particles for volatile organic compounds; DSD-TEA packed with triethanolamine impregnated silica for acid gases; and DSD-NH3 packed with phosphoric acid impregnated silica for basic gases.

Carbonyl compounds generated from electronic cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are advertised as being safer than tobacco cigarettes products as the chemical compounds inhaled from e-cigarettes are believed to be fewer and less toxic than those from tobacco cigarettes. Therefore, continuous careful monitoring and risk management of e-cigarettes should be implemented, with the aim of protecting and promoting public health worldwide. Moreover, basic scientific data are required for the regulation of e-cigarette.

[Determination of amounts of tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tobacco-specific nitrosamines in the fillers of and mainstream smoke from privately imported cigarettes].

Objective: The tobacco tax in Japan was increased in October, 2010. Subsequently, the quantity of sales of domestic cigarette products decreased temporarily. However, smokers could import cigarettes directly through the internet.

[Measurement of hazardous chemical constituents and mutagenic activity in fillers and mainstream smoke from Neo Cedar].

Objective: To determine constituents of fillers and mainstream smoke from Neo Cedar.

Methods: Neo Cedar is a second-class over-the-counter (OTC) drug and similar to cigarettes in a number of ways. In particular, the design and usage are very similar to those of cigarettes.

Determination of carbonyl compounds generated from the E-cigarette using coupled silica cartridges impregnated with hydroquinone and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Carbonyl compounds in E-cigarette smoke mist were measured using coupled silica cartridges impregnated with hydroquinone and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography. A total of 363 E-cigarettes (13 brands) were examined. Four of the 13 E-cigarette brands did not generate any carbonyl compounds, while the other nine E-cigarette brands generated various carbonyl compounds.