The concentrations of phthalates in settled dust in Bulgarian homes in relation to building characteristic and cleaning habits in the family Barbara Kolarik a, b, * , Carl-Gustaf Bornehag a, c, d , Kiril Naydenov e , Jan Sundell f , Petra Stavova a, g , Ole Faurskov Nielsen h a Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil Engineering, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark b Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology (OWiTO), Konarskiego 18, 44-101 Gliwice, Poland c Public Health Sciences, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden d SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, SE-501 15 Boras, Sweden e ALECTIA A/S, Teknikerbyen 34, Virum 2830, Denmark f The University of Texas at Tyler, College of Engineering and Computer Science, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799, USA g Czech Technical University in Prague, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technicka 4,166 07 Prague, Czech Republic h University of Copenhagen, Department of Chemistry, 5 Universitetsparken, DK-2100 København, Denmark article info Article history: Received 18 February 2008 Received in revised form 12 August 2008 Accepted 20 August 2008 Keywords: Phthalates PVC flooring Building characteristic Raman spectroscopy Polishing products abstract Phthalate esters are chemical compounds with a broad range of applications. Recently, we have shown that significantly higher dust concentration of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was found in Bulgarian homes of children with asthma or allergies compared to healthy children. The concentration of DEHP was found to be significantly associated with wheezing in the last 12 months as reported by parents. The objective of the current study was to examine the associations between concentrations of phthalates in settled dust collected in Bulgarian homes and building characteristics and cleaning habits. Dust samples from the child’s bedroom were collected in 177 homes and analysed for the content of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) and DEHP. Information on building characteristics and family habits were collected from parental reports in questionnaires and from inspectors’ observations in the homes. Significantly higher concentrations of BBzP, DEHP and DnOP in indoor dust were found in homes where poli- shing agents were used, compared to homes where such products were not used. The highest concentrations of DEHP, BBzP and DnOP were found in homes with the combi- nation of a low frequency of dusting and the use of polish. There was no difference in phthalate concentrations between inspector-observed balatum flooring (PVC or linoleum) and wood flooring as well as between PVC, as determined by Raman spectra, and wood flooring. However, in a sub-group of homes with no use of polish, the concentration of DEHP was higher in homes with inspector-observed balatum compared with wood flooring but the difference was not significant may be due to a too small sample size. Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy (ISE), Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology (OWiTO), Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland. Tel.: þ4832 237 23 95; fax: þ4832 237 25 59. E-mail address: barbara.kolarik@gmail.com (B. Kolarik). URL: http://www.ie.dtu.dk, http://www.polsl.pl, http://www.alectia.com, http://utp.fs.cvut.cz, http://www.kiku.dk Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Atmospheric Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv 1352-2310/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.08.028 Atmospheric Environment 42 (2008) 8553–8559