Tetrachloroethene in exhaled air of persons living near pollution sources

Exhaled air was analyzed for tetrachloroethene (PER) in teachers and 4-5-year-old pupils of a kindergarten situated near a factory, and in residents of an old folks ' home situated near a former chemical waste dump. The PER concentrations were higher in the exhaled air of children living near the factory (mean 24 micrograms/m3, n = 6) than in control children (mean 2.8 micrograms/m3, n = 11). In the old folks ' home, the PER concentrations in the exhaled air of people living on the first floor were higher (mean 7.8 micrograms/m3, n = 10) than in the exhaled air of the people living on the second floor and higher (mean 1.8 micrograms/m3, n = 19). From the results of this study, it is clear that in environmental exposure to tetrachloroethene, biological monitoring of exhaled air is a simple, efficient, effective and convenient method of assessing total ambient exposure of both young and aged subjects.