Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 86-472-1832, commercial office buildings, Boston, Massachusetts

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5274062

Kominsky, J R

Surface and air contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) were studied in two office buildings in Boston to obtain background levels for comparison with cleanup guidelines for another building, the 50 Staniford Street Office Building, which had experienced a transformer fire in 1981. Charles River Park Properties requested the study. Concentrations of PCBs on workspace surfaces ranged from less than 1 to 69 micrograms/square meter (microg/m2) and less than 1 to 100mecrog/m2. Concentrations of PCDFs on work surfaces ranged from 0.48 to 5.4 nanograms per square meter (ng/m2), and PCDD concentrations from 2.8 to 146ng/m2. Concentrations of PCBs in workspace air samples ranged from 0.06 to 0.31 micrograms per cubic meter. Airborne PCDFs were undetected except for hepta and octa isomers. PCBs were significantly correlated with PCDDs and PCDFs in terms of surface concentrations.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5274062
• Report Number(s): PB-88-162706/XAB; HETA-86-472-1832
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
552000 -- Public Health
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
AROMATICS
BUILDINGS
CARCINOGENS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
DIOXIN
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
FURANS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
INSPECTION
MATERIALS
MEDICINE
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
OFFICE BUILDINGS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SAFETY
TOXICITY