Model Estimates of the Contributions of Environmental Tobacco Smoke to Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Buildings

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) in office buildings originate from multiple sources, such as outdoor air, building materials., occupants, office supplies, and office equipment. Many of the VOC found in office buildings are also present in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), e.g., benzene, toluene, formaldehyde. Measurements made to date in office buildings have been interpreted by some to imply that the contributions of ETS to VOC exposures in office buildings are small. We have made a first order estimate of the contributions of ETS to VOC concentrations based on the VOC content of ETS and a time‐dependent mass‐balance model. Four different ventilation‐infiltration scenarios were modelled for a typical office building.

The results indicate that ETS can contribute significantly to total indoor levels of VOC in office buildings, even under moderate ventilation conditions. Ranges of concentrations for three of the four modelled scenarios substantially overlapped measured ranges of the compounds in office buildings. Average daytime concentrations of benzene from ETS, for example, for three of the four modelled scenarios, ranged from 2.7 to 6.2 μg m⁻³, compared to reported measurements of 1.4 to 8.1 μg m⁻³ for four office buildings. Under a “worst reasonable” case scenario, the average modelled ETS‐contributed concentration of benzene was 33.9 μg m⁻³ for a 40‐hour work week.