Clean-up, extraction and GC/MS analysis for qualitative and quantitative of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds from silicone wristband dosimeters

Volatile and semi-volatile compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), flame retardants, etc., comprise a large fraction of our environmental exposures. These compounds are emitted from items like house furniture, perfume, paints, and pesticides and exposure occurs through inhalation, dermal, injections, and ingestion. Current methods for estimating exposure to VOCs and SVOCs include hand wipes, blood/urine testing, air-monitoring collection bags, solid sorbent tubes and solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fiber. Silicone wristbands are a novel passive dosimeter that can be utilized for VOCs and SVOCs sampling once significant background is removed. Using a vacuum bake-out cleaning method, followed by extraction with ethyl acetate, and GC-MS analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis of targeted SVOCs and VOCs was performed. This dosimeter could be utilized to detect personal exposure from VOCs and SVOCs in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, firefighters, framers, kids, and industry workers. This poster will describe an optimized clean-up protocol and extraction/recovery studies for VOCs and SVOCs from silicone wristbands, to include analytical procedures by GC/MS.