(VCCEP) Tier 1 Pilot Submission for BENZENE - Tera

Table 7.11: Summary of Benzene Measurements from Attached-Garage
Studies
Study Location
Benzene
Concentration
(µg/m 3 ) Comments
Thomas et al., 1993 Home 1 21 New Jersey, December 1987. Benzene
Home 2
Home 3
Home 4
5.7
34
15.5
content in gasoline not assessed.
Information about automobiles parked in
garages not given. Measurements
obtained in the living rooms and
Study Mean 19.1 bedrooms.
Brown and Crump,
1998
Mann et al., 2001
Benzene VCCEP Submission
March 2006
Study Mean
(11 homes)
Home 1 7.8
Home 2 8.7
Home 3 28.3
Home 4 9.7
Study Mean 13.6
Adgate et al., 2004b 94 homes 11.5 (mean)
3.3 (10 th
percentile)
27.5 (90 th
percentile)
(See Note)
11.1 UK, March 1994 - November 1995.
Benzene content in gasoline not
assessed. Information about
automobiles parked in garages not
given. Measurements obtained in the
living rooms and bedrooms.
112
Southampton, UK, June 1998 -
November 1999. Benzene content in
gasoline between 1 and 5%. Car model
years ranged from 1986 - 1992; all
carbureted engines. Measurements
obtained in the living rooms, bedrooms
and rooms above or adjacent to the
garage.
Evaluated 426 private residences in
1997 for indoor air, concentrations of
benzene. Of those homes 94 had
attached garages with at least one
vehicle parked in it during the study
period. Additionally 44 homes had
sources of gasoline other than or in
addition to a vehicle (i.e., gas cans, small
engine equipment, etc.)
Note: These data were presented in the published manuscript, but were derived from the raw study data.
Of the studies listed on Table 7.11, Adgate et al. (2004) was determined to be the best available
study for assessing high-end indoor air benzene concentrations. Brown and Crump, 1998 and
Mann et al., 2001 were determined to be not representative because the studies were
conducted in the U.K where the benzene content in the gasoline was reported as up to 3 times
higher than gasoline used in the US during the same time period. Additionally, Thomas et al.,
(1993) was conducted in 1987 and has limitations because of the small sample size (N-4) and
older vehicle fleet years.
The raw data from the Adgate et al. (2004b) study were obtained from the Minnesota
Department of Health and analyzed for homes with attached garages. The study also included
homes where the presence of a smoker was documented. The indoor air concentrations of
benzene for these households ranged from 3.1 to 53.6 µg/m 3 with an average concentration of
11.5 µg/m 3 . The data were also analyzed to determine if the presence of a smoker in the home