Volatile Chemical Emissions from Car Air Fresheners

Overview

Steinemann and colleagues analyzed volatile organic compound emissions from 12 car air fresheners by headspace GC/MS. The paper is mostly a VOC-emissions study rather than a heavy-metal concentration survey, but it is routeable as home-air emission context because one emitted compound was tetracarbonylnickel (CAS 13463-39-3), an organonickel species. No total nickel concentration or emitted mass concentration is reported.

Key numbers

• Sample frame: 12 car air fresheners from California stores, including 6 car vent air fresheners (2 natural, 4 regular), 3 hanging air fresheners (3 regular), 2 can air fresheners (2 natural), and 1 spray air freshener (1 regular).
• Analytical setup: approximately 2 g of product placed in a 10 mL amber vial and analyzed by headspace GC/MS.
• Table 1: across all 12 car air fresheners, the study reported 546 emitted VOC occurrences and 275 VOC identities.
• Table 1: potentially hazardous VOCs totaled 30 occurrences and 9 identities; 23 potentially hazardous VOC occurrences were from 8 regular products, and 7 were from 4 natural products.
• Table 1: product labels or safety data sheets listed 10 VOC occurrences and 10 identities; 0 potentially hazardous VOCs were listed.
• Table 2: most prevalent VOCs across all products included limonene in 10 of 12, benzyl acetate in 9 of 12, acetone in 9 of 12, ethanol in 9 of 12, linalool in 8 of 12, acetaldehyde in 8 of 12, and methanol in 8 of 12.
• Table 3: tetracarbonylnickel (CAS 13463-39-3) occurred in 1 product, was classified as California Proposition 65 and asthmagen-listed, and was not listed on a product label or safety data sheet.
• Supplementary Table 2 also reports tetracarbonylnickel* (CAS 13463-39-3) with prevalence 1 in all car air fresheners, 1 in regular products, and 0 in natural products.
• The authors report that all products emitted at least one VOC classified as potentially hazardous, but they do not provide product-specific concentration values for tetracarbonylnickel.

Methods (brief)

The study used a convenience sample of car air fresheners selected from California retail settings. Volatile emissions were measured by headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a Shimadzu GC/MS-QP2010 Plus instrument, BPX-VOL capillary column, and Shimadzu AOC-500 automated sample-injection system. Compound identification used the NIST Version 2.0 mass-spectral library. Potentially hazardous VOCs were identified using U.S. EPA hazardous air pollutant listings, California Proposition 65, and Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics asthmagen classifications.

Related evidence

• Other home-air emission products (case-by-case, inhalation prioritized)
• Nickel

Update history

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