Characterization of emissions composition for selected household products available in Korea

The present study investigated the emission composition for 59 household products currently sold in Korea, using a headspace analysis. The chemical composition and concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) broadly varied along with products, even within the same product category. Up to 1-17 organic compounds were detected in the headspace gas phase of any one of the products. The chemical composition of certain household products determined in the current study was different from that of other studies from other countries. Between 4 and 37 compounds were detected in the headspace gas phase of each product class. Several compounds were identified in more than one product class. Of the 59 household products analyzed, 58 emitted one or more of the 72 compounds at chromatographic peak areas above 10⁴. There were 11 analytes which occurred with a frequency of more than 10%: limonene (44.2%), ethanol (30.5%), acetone (18.6%), α-pinene (18.6%), o,m,p-xylenes (18.6%), decane (17.0%), toluene (17.0%), β-myrcene (11.9%), ammonia (10.2%), ethylbenzene (10.2%), and hexane (10.2%).