Worksite Chemical Air Emissions and Worker Exposure during Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Pipe Rehabilitation Using Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP)

Chemical emissions were characterized for steam-cured cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) installations in Indiana (sanitary sewer) and California (stormwater). One pipe in California involved a low-volatile organic compound (VOC) non-styrene resin, while all other CIPP sites used styrene resins. In Indiana, the uncured resin contained styrene, benzaldehyde, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and unidentified compounds. Materials emitted from the CIPP work sites were condensed and characterized. An emitted chemical plume in Indiana was a complex multiphase mixture of organic vapor, water vapor, particulate (condensable vapor and partially cured resin), and liquid droplets (water and organics). The condensed material contained styrene, acetone, and unidentified compounds. In California, both styrene and low-VOC resin condensates contained styrene, benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, BHT, dibutyl phthalate, and 1-tetradecanol. Phenol was detected only in the styrene resin condensate. Acetophenone, 4-tert-butylcyclohexanol, 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone, and tripropylene glycol diacrylate were detected only in the low-VOC condensate. Styrene in the low-VOC condensate was likely due to contamination of contractor equipment. Some, but not all, condensate compounds were detected in uncured resins. Two of four California styrene resin condensates were cytotoxic to mouse alveolar type II epithelial cells and macrophages. Real-time photoionization detector monitoring showed emissions varied significantly and were a function of location, wind direction, and worksite activity.