Residual Perchloroethylene in Dry-Cleaned Acetate: The Effect of Pressing and Extent of Inter-Dry-Cleaner Variability |
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| Authors: | Kevin P Brand Christine J Jang Ju-Hyeong Park Paulina I Serrano Robert A Weker Kiyoung Lee |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA kbrand@hsph.harvard.edu;3. Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , Massachusetts , USA;4. School of Public Health , Queensland University of Technology , Queensland , Australia , USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Measurements of residual perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry-cleaning solvent associated with human health effects, were made in dry-cleaned acetate cloth to enable improved characterizations of both occupational and environmental exposure. A limited sample size (25 acetate cloths) was used to explore the extent of inter-dry-cleaner variability in residual PCE and to characterize the effect of the pressing operation on residual PCE. A new method, which uses carbon-disulfide as the direct extracting agent, proved effective in the analysis of residual PCE, with a recovery-efficiency ≈ 75%. Inter-dry-cleaner variability of residual PCE, although marginally statistically significant, was relatively low, showing only a fourfold range compared to a 5-order-of-magnitude range obtained from Kawauchi and Nishiyama1. Pairwise comparison of residual PCE in nonpressed versus pressed acetate samples revealed a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.008), which amounted to a consistent (among dry-cleaners) pressing-related removal efficiency of 75 ± 4%. A preliminary assessment of the source term associated with the pressing operation (mass PCE liberated per kg cloth dry-cleaned, SPCE ≈ 30 mg/kg) indicates a minor contribution to the average ambient air concentrations within dry-cleaning establishments. |
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