Identification and analysis of volatile organic compound and very volatile organic compound of MDF coated with different lacquers and their health risks to humans

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and styrene released from furniture and interior decoration materials are important chemicals affecting indoor air quality and have been shown to be harmful to human health. However, little attention is paid for VVOC and their health risks. To close this gap, in April 2022, a 15-L environmental chamber, combined with multibed tube, was used for gas sampling at the Northeast Forestry University laboratory. Emissions of VOC and VVOC from MDF coated with different lacquers were investigated using thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that the total concentrations of VOC and VVOC increased by 37.33%, 96.88%, and 86.45%, respectively, after MDF was coated with water-based (WB), polyurethane (PU), and nitrocellulose (NC) lacquers. The total VVOC concentration from MDF was higher than the total VOC concentration. Alcohols were the most abundant chemicals in MDF, followed by aromatics and alkanes, together accounting for more than 70% of the total. Aromatics and alkanes were the most important VOC after painting. These three lacquers inhibited some VVOC but promoted other chemicals, like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and tetrahydrofuran. For health impacts, the cancer risk and noncancer risk of benzene from lacquered MDF were estimated to be 4.46 x 10-5 to 6.42 x 10-5 and 0.19 to 0.27 respectively, indicating a probable cancer risk and no obvious noncancer risk. WB-MDF is recommended for indoor applications. This research points the need for exploring environmentally friendly solvents to replace benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene in order to reduce emissions of volatile pollutants.