Volatile organics off-gassed among tobacco-exposed clothing fabrics.

This work evaluates the characteristics of short-term release of volatile and semi-volatile organic chemicals from clothing fabrics that are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Various fabrics were concurrently exposed to ETS in a controlled facility, and the chemicals off-gassed were sampled using solid phase micro-extraction coupled with GC/MS analysis. Toluene-reference concentration (TRC) was calculated for nine selected chemicals and compared. The number of chemicals identified from ETS-exposed fabrics ranged from 13 (polyester and acetate) to 32 (linen). All fabrics off-gassed formaldehyde, tetradecanoic acid and n-hexadecanoic acid, while seven out of eight fabrics emitted furfural, benzonitrile, naphthalene and decanal. Natural fibers of plant origin (cotton and linen) off-gassed higher concentrations (TRC>100 μg/l) of chemicals that have low molecular weight (~100 or less) than did natural fibers of animal origin (wool and silk) and synthetic fibers. Conversely, wool and silk off-gassed more chemicals that are of high molecular weight (>200), such as TDA (TRC>100 μg/l) and n-HDA (TRC>500 μg/l), than did other fabrics. Fabric structure (for a particular material) significantly affects chemical off-gassing. Cotton typically used for polo shirt (knitted) off-gassed significantly (p<0.05) higher TRC for chemicals with molecular weight of ~100 (such as furfural) than did other cottons of woven style. The dyeing of fabric (white vs. black) had a limited effect on emission, while increasing contact time with ETS increased the intensity of chemical emissions. The mean TRC for cotton exposed for 12 min was nearly doubled than those exposed for 8min, but no difference existed for polyester.