Risk in cleaning: chemical and physical exposure

This article gives an introduction to cleaning agents and describes the impact of cleaning on cleaners, but also on occupants of indoor environments and quality of cleaning. The cleaning agents are grouped into different categories (technical functions, purpose,…). Disinfectants are identified as the most hazardous group. The use of cleaning agents results in a temporal increase in the overall level of volatile organic compounds (VOC). This increase may occur during the cleaning process and thus can enhance the probability of increased short-term exposure of the cleaners. However, the increased levels can also be present after the cleaning and result in an overall increased VOC level that can possibly affect the indoor air quality (IAQ) perceived by occupants. The impact of cleaning agents also depend on certain circumstances: the duration of the use, the temperature, dry or wet cleaning, etc. Some building materials appear to increase their VOC emission through wet cleaning and thus may affect the IAQ. Particles and dirt also contain a great variety of both volatile and non-volatile substances, including allergens. The level of these substances can also be high immediately after the cleaning process, but few studies have been conducted concerning this problem. The paper also lists a variety of field sampling techniques for VOC and surface particle.