Analysis of semi-volatile organic compounds in indoor suspended particulate matter by thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

People are exposed to multiple pollutants, especially indoors. In the perspective of a cumulative risk assessment, a multi-residue analytical method was developed to assess the contamination of indoor suspended particulate matter by 55 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) including musk fragrances, organochlorines (OCs), organophosphates (OPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), phthalates and pyrethroids. It is based on thermal desorption (TD) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Once the thermal desorption conditions were optimized, the method was validated in terms of quantification limits and accuracy using a standard reference material (SRM 2585). Instrumental quantification limits were 10 pg (some OCs, some pyrethroids, musk fragrances, OPs, PAHs, PBDEs and PCBs), 100 pg (phthalates and other OCs) and 1000 pg (other pyrethroids) corresponding respectively to method quantification limits of 1, 10, and 100 pg/m3 for a sampled air volume of 20 m3. Calibration quadratic curves for ranges of 10–1000, 100–10,000, and 1000–100,000 pg, depending on the substance, exhibit determination coefficients above 0.999. Recoveries were between 61 and 96% for chlorinated pesticides, PAHs, PBDEs and PCBs present in the SRM 2585. A test of the method on indoor particulate matter samples (PM10) collected on quartz fiber filters in French dwellings demonstrated its ability to quantify SVOCs from a small amount of PM.

► Simultaneous determination of a wide range of SVOCs in indoor suspended PM.
► Simple and efficient analytical method based on thermal desorption.
► Suitable method to quantify SVOCs from a small amount of PM.