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Organic films were collected from indoor and outdoor window surfaces in two large cities in southern China, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and analyzed to quantify the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In the glass films, the highest concentration of total PAHs, predominantly phenanthrene, fluorene, fluoranthene, and pyrene, was found to be l400 ng/m2. The concentrations of PAHs in Guangzhou were usually higher than those in Hong Kong. In general, higher concentrations of PAHs on exterior window films in comparison with interior window films in both cities indicated that the outdoor air acted as a major source of pollution to the indoor environment. However, indoor air was a major source of some light-weight PAHs. Measurements made over time indicated that the growth rates of light-weight PAHs on window surfaces were fast at the beginning and then gradually reached a consistent level, whereas heavy-weight PAHs exhibited near-linear accumulation during the 40 days sampling period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background. The objective was to describe the extent of passive smoking exposure and preventive actions against passive smoking in non-smoking pregnant women and to analyze factors associated with preventive actions. Methods. This was a cross-sectional survey on 1449 never-smoking pregnant women who made their first prenatal visit to the Women and Children's Hospital of Guangzhou, China during 1996–97. Results. 60.2% (95% Confidence Interval 57.7%–62.7%) of the never-smoking pregnant women had a husband who currently smoked. Women with smoking husbands (n=872) were more exposed to ETS than those with non-smoking husbands (n=577) at home (71% vs. 33%), in public places (77% vs. 66%) and at work (60% vs. 50% of working women), and they took less actions against passive smoking in public places. Women with better education and knowledge on smoking and passive smoking had stronger preventive actions. Conclusions. Non-smoking pregnant women in China are often exposed to passive smoking and their preventive actions are weak. Passive smoking is an important obstetric and public health problem in developing countries and deserves urgent international attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Organic films, collected from indoor and outdoor window surfaces in Guangzhou and Hong Kong of South China, were analyzed to quantify their organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) content. The highest concentrations of OC, EC, and BDE-209 were found in Guangzhou with values of 10 000 μg m−2, 2200 μg m−2, and 4000 ng m−2, respectively, and the highest concentration of Σ7PBDE (sum of BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -154 and -183) was found in Hong Kong with a value of 25 ng m−2. In most cases, the concentrations of PBDEs were higher in the exterior films than those in the interior films with BDE-209 as the predominant congener in both cities, suggesting that PBDEs mainly come from ambient environment, and deca-BDE accounts for major PBDE consumption. The growth rates of organic film on window surfaces were fast at the beginning, and reached a consistent level afterwards. The evolution rates ranged from 2.6 to 11 nm day−1 for “bulk film”, while from 0.06 to 0.92 nm day−1 for “pure film”. The concentrations of PBDEs on the window surfaces did not increase with the growth time, suggesting that the window surface may provide a good place for photo-degradation of PBDEs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]