HYGROSCOPICITY OF CONSUMER SPRAY PRODUCT AEROSOL-PARTICLES

Consumer spray products are a major category of indoor aerosol particl e sources. To provide a quantitative basis for modeling respiratory de position of indoor aerosol particles, the hygroscopicity of six kinds of consumer spray product particles was studied. It was found that the ir hygroscopicity varied significantly depending on the nature of the products, with some showing significant hygroscopic growth, some showi ng moderate hygroscopic growth, and some that were not hygroscopic at all. The particle growth ratios ranged from 1.0 to more than 3.0. A se mi-empirical model was used to evaluate the hygroscopic growth of the different kinds of particles. These results could provide the input da ta needed for a lung deposition model to predict the effect of hygrosc opic growth on particle regional deposition and related health effects .