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The development of consumerism led to an increase in toy production. Such consumer products may contain non-intentionally added toxic substances that can emit from the product and may be inhaled by the consumer. Little data is available on the inhalation exposure of humans to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from consumer products, so a reliable exposure assessment is needed. Only the emission chamber technique developed for building material emissions can provide solid estimations as it allows the products to be studied under real room conditions. This paper proposes a strategy to interpret emission experiment results from consumer products and assess the corresponding potential risk. It focuses on 14 common VOCs. The identification of the polymer type of 41 plastic articles was first performed by pyrolysis coupled online to gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (pyr-GC/MS). Their VOC profile was also determined by Dynamic Headspace-GC/MS (DHS-GC/MS). Softer polymers caused higher and broader emission profiles. Four specific toy samples were selected to be studied in a 203 l emission chamber and their emissions were compared to a reference material. A rapid decrease in the emissions was observed for each product and VOC. Based on these emission curves over time, the corresponding indoor air concentration could be calculated for the target VOCs for short-term or long-term exposures. The indoor air levels obtained were at least 35 times lower than the levels according to conventional indoor air guidelines. Guideline values were only exceeded using very conservative exposure scenarios.

Chronic oedema is a major clinical problem worldwide, which has many important secondary consequences for health, activity and participation. Effective treatment planning and organisation of services is dependent on an understanding of the condition and its epidemiology. This cross sectional study was designed to estimate the point prevalence of chronic oedema within the health services of one UK urban population and to determine the proportions that have concurrent leg ulceration. Patients with chronic oedema were ascertained by health care professionals in one acute and one community hospital, all relevant out-patient and community nursing services, general practices and all nursing/residential homes in one urban catchment area (Derby City). The presence and distribution of oedema was confirmed through a brief clinical examination. A battery of demographic and clinical details was recorded for each case. Within the study population of Derby City residents, 971 patients were identified with chronic oedema (estimated crude prevalence 3.93 per 1,000, 95% CI 3.69-4.19). The prevalence was highest amongst those aged 85 or above (28.75 per 1,000) and was higher amongst women (5.37 per 1,000) than men (2.48 per 1,000). The prevalence amongst hospital in-patients was 28.5%. Only 5 (3%) patients in the community population had oedema related to cancer or cancer treatment. Of the 304 patients identified with oedema from the Derby hospitals or community health services 121 (40%) had a concurrent leg ulcer. Prevalence statistics and current demographic trends indicate that chronic oedema is a major and growing health care problem.