Abstract

Occupants of former methamphetamine laboratories, often residences, may experience increased exposure through the accumulation of the methamphetamine in the organic films that coat skin and indoor surfaces. The objectives of this study were to determine equilibrium partition coefficients of vapor-phase methamphetamine with artificial sebum (AS-1), artificial sebum without fatty acids (AS-2), and real skin surface films, herein called skin oils. Sebum and skin oil-coated filters were exposed to vapor-phase methamphetamine at concentrations ranging from 8 to 159 ppb, and samples were analyzed for exposure time periods from 2 h to 60 days. For a low vapor-phase methamphetamine concentration range of ~8-22 ppb, the equilibrium partition coefficient for AS-1 was 1500 ± 195 μg/g/ppb. For a high concentration range of 98-112 ppb, the partition coefficient was lower, 459 ± 80 μg/g/ppb, suggesting saturation of the available absorption capacity. The low partition coefficient for AS-2 (33 ± 6 μg/g/ppb) suggests that the fatty acids in AS-1 and skin oil are responsible for much high partition coefficients. We predict that the methamphetamine concentration in skin lipids coating indoor surfaces can exceed recommended surface remediation standards even for air concentrations well below 1 ppb.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Publication Status

Full Access

Keywords and Phrases

Fatty acids; Indoor surfaces; Methamphetamine; Partition coefficient; Sebum; Skin oil

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1600-0668

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Wiley, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2016

PubMed ID

26126994

Download

Full Text Link

Share

 
COinS