Quantitative survey of the amount of moth repellent used in Japanese households to estimate indoor exposure levels

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  • ONO Kyoko
    Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
  • KOHZAKI Jun
    Chemical Management Center, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation
  • NAKAMURA Jun
    Chemical Management Center, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 家庭用防虫剤由来物質の室内曝露レベル推定を目的とした日本の家庭における防虫剤使用量調査

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Abstract

Moth repellent (MR) is commonly used in clothing storage containers in Japan. However, the amount of MR used has not been extensively surveyed. We conducted a nationwide online survey on the indoor use of MRs in Japanese households, and used the results from 1,715 respondents to quantify the amounts and house-to-house variations. The respondents were asked how much MR, containing p-dichlorobenzene (PDCB) and pyrethroids (PYRE), was used within each dwelling, the rooms in which MR was used, together with the characteristics of the respondent's dwellings. The proportion of households using some kind of MR in the bedroom and living room was 52% and 12%, respectively. A large house-to-house variation was observed in the amount used. For all households, the mean and 95th percentiles of the amounts of PDCB used in bedrooms were 0 and 784 g, respectively, and for PYRE 0 and 3.58 g, respectively. Amongst those households using MR, the ratio of the 95th percentile to the mean of the amount PDCB used in bedrooms was 4.6. We identified a potentially high risk population among MR users. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.66) was observed between the amounts of PDCB used in bedrooms and living rooms, suggesting higher personal exposure for residents in houses with multi-room use. We estimated the room concentrations for PDCB and PYRE under average and extreme use scenarios, assuming a steady-state-box model. For PDCB, the ratios of estimated to measured concentrations were 0.2 for the median, and 2 for the 95th percentile. For PYRE, the ratio was 2 for the 95th percentile. This method will be useful in screening assessments for indoor exposure to potentially hazardous substances for which scarce measurement data exists (e.g., pyrethroids).

Journal

  • Indoor Environment

    Indoor Environment 19 (1), 11-22, 2016

    Society of Indoor Environment, Japan

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