Applying the two-resistance theory to contaminant volatilization in showers

The two-resistance theory is applied to the transfer of volatile contaminants from shower water to indoor air by means of two transient mass balance models.Mass transfer coefficients are calculated from reported experimental data for four full-scale shower systems.Both liquid-and gas-phase coefficients appear to increase rapidly with water flowrate, but the results are confounded by substantial variations among the different shower systems.The influence of water temperature on mass transfer coefficients is generally smaller than the experimental uncertainty.The measured mass transfer coefficients enable predictions to be made of the accumulation of volatile contaminants in shower and bathroom air during a typical shower.Exposures are calculated for volatile organic compounds representative of the entire range of volatilities found in water supply systems.