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. 2020 Aug 20;7(10):760-765.
doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00587. eCollection 2020 Oct 13.

Increased Indoor Exposure to Commonly Used Disinfectants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Guomao Zheng  1 , Gabriel M Filippelli  2   3 , Amina Salamova  1
Affiliations

Increased Indoor Exposure to Commonly Used Disinfectants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Guomao Zheng et al. Environ Sci Technol Lett. .

Abstract

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or "quats") make up a class of chemicals used as disinfectants in cleaning and other consumer products. While disinfection is recommended for maintaining a safe environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased use of QACs is concerning as exposure to these compounds has been associated with adverse effects on reproductive and respiratory systems. We have determined the occurrence of 19 QACs in residential dust collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. QACs were detected in >90% of the samples collected during the pandemic at concentrations ranging from 1.95 to 531 μg/g (n = 40; median of 58.9 μg/g). The total QAC concentrations in these samples were significantly higher than in samples collected before the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.05; n = 21; median of 36.3 μg/g). Higher QAC concentrations were found in households that generally disinfected more frequently (p < 0.05). Disinfecting products commonly used in these homes were analyzed, and the QAC profiles in dust and in products were similar, suggesting that these products can be a significant source of QACs. Our findings indicate that indoor exposure to QACs is widespread and has increased during the pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The ∑QAC concentrations (μg/g) in dust collected from homes: A) during (n = 40) and before (n = 21) the COVID-19 pandemic; B) with increased (n = 29) and not changed (n = 11) disinfecting frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic; and C) more frequent (1–5 times per week; n = 27) and less frequent (less than once a week or do not use disinfecting chemicals; n = 13; three outliers were omitted) disinfecting. Concentrations are shown as boxplots, representing the 25th and 75th percentiles; black lines represent the median; and the whiskers represent the 10th and 90th percentiles. The asterisks represent the statistical difference at p < 0.05 based on a Mann-Whitney test.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of the average contributions (%) of the three QAC groups to the ∑QAC concentrations in house dust and in the only three disinfecting products (Products 1, 2, and 7) used in more than 80% of the homes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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