BUMAC Database

Users’ Manual

Krystallia K. Kalimeri

Environmental Technology Laboratory, Department of

Mechanical Engineering, University of Western

Macedonia, Greece

October 2013

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 3

2. Main screen ............................................................................................. 5

3. Exploring the database ............................................................................ 6

3.1. Product Levels .................................................................................. 6

3.2. Experiments and Emissions ............................................................. 8

3.3. Products .......................................................................................... 10

3.4. Compounds ..................................................................................... 11

3.5. Background Info ............................................................................. 13

Table of figures

Figure 1. Introductory screen of the BUMAC database. ............................ 5

Figure 2. Main screen of the BUMAC database. ....................................... 5

Figure 3. Product classes under a specific product category. ..................... 6

Figure 4. Product class use patterns under a specific product class. .......... 7

Figure 5. Product class use pattern answer. ................................................ 7

Figure 6. Products that belong to the specific product class. ..................... 7

Figure 7. Experiments report. ..................................................................... 8

Figure 8. Experiment Form. ........................................................................ 8

Figure 9. Emissions Report. ........................................................................ 9

Figure 10. (a) Selection of columns to search, (b) Selections of actions to

be performed. .............................................................................................. 9

Figure 11. List of existent products in the database. ................................ 10

Figure 12. Product details. ........................................................................ 10

Figure 13. Report of Compounds. ............................................................ 11

Figure 14. Compound form. ..................................................................... 11

Figure 15. Report of products that emit formaldehyde. ........................... 12

Figure 16. Emission report for formaldehyde. ......................................... 12

Figure 17. Main screen of “Background Info”. ........................................ 13

Figure 18. Compound limits report. ......................................................... 13

Figure 19. Sources of the database. .......................................................... 14

Figure 20. Physical Properties report. ....................................................... 14

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1. Introduction

The BUMAC database is a well-designed consumer product emission database

created within the framework of the EPHECT Project. The EPHECT Project focuses

its efforts on European use and use patterns of relevant consumer products and

contributes to a better understanding of multiple exposures to air pollutants emitted by

typical household products.

The specific objective of the BUMAC database is the creation of a database on the

state-of-the-art of emissions and health end points from consumer products. The

primary purposes of the database development were to:

Create an overview of the available consumer products emission data.

Create an overview of the existing data gaps.

The database development was based on the BUMA database. The BUMAC interface

was inspired by the BUMA database. These two databases use almost the same format

logic and were created in order to be able to be combined in a Building Material and

Consumer Product Database.

The BUMAC database was set-up as a compilation of data on the current

state-of-the-art on consumer product compositions and emissions, on test chamber

experimental results, exposures, risks and health end points. Qualitative data were

assured by using only data outcomes from procedures derived from standardized

emission test protocols. The key indoor air pollutants and emerging pollutants studied

constitute of (1) compounds prioritized by relevant international concerted actions or

international organizations, such as INDEX, BUMA and WHO and (2) compounds

reported in open literature as (potential) hazardous and occurring in this type of

consumer products. They include gaseous and particulate matter emissions, secondary

reactions and degradations of coated surfaces. The database allowed a clear view on

current research gaps. The application of the six (6) following pre-defined selection

criteria on the listed products in BUMAC allowed the selection of fifteen (15)

relevant consumer product classes for further research.

The product should:

1. be used in households;

2. cause an exposure related to the use;

3. emit key or emerging pollutants;

4. have a considerable indicative household use frequency;

5. mainly cause inhalation exposure and

6. cause a health end point.

BUMAC classifies, organizes and presents in a user-friendly and

comprehensive way, the emission data from commonly used consumer products and

their emitted compounds. The BUMAC database is continuously updated with

emission data from studies carried out by certificated institutions as well as by peer

reviewed literature focusing more on data for health relevant compounds. The

database also includes data from emission studies which were carried out in the frame

of EPHECT on 15 selected consumer products.

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BUMAC is intended to be an important instrument utilized by the

stakeholders, such as consumers, policy makers, health professionals, building

occupants and/or owners, industry and building professionals in order to:

- be informed on the state of the art concerning emission data for building materials

and consumer products

- be able to compare the emissions of a new material/ product with the state of the art.

The BUMAC database was developed using the Oracle Application Express,

which is a rapid web application development tool for the Oracle database. It allows a

very fast development cycle to be achieved for creating web based applications. The

framework is web-based and all developer tools are available using a web browser.

Furthermore, users need only a web browser in order to access and use BUMAC

database. The contents of the database can be exported using standardized and custom

reports, some of which are predefined such as having an ASCII text snapshot of the

database content or export table's data into a spreadsheet. Using the built-in search the

user can create intuitive custom searches using several keywords that include: product

category, products’ name, emitted compounds etc. Moreover, several available filters

can be used to customize the reports. Finally, emissions/concentration bar charts are

produced for each compound emitted by a specific product.

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2. Main screen

In figure 1 the BUMAC database introductory screen is shown. A user name and a

password are needed in order for someone to enter (login) the BUMAC Database.

Figure 1. Introductory screen of the BUMAC database.

After entering the credentials the database main screen will appear. At the right top of

the screen someone can see the database contents. These include the:

Product Levels

Experiments and Emissions

Products

Compounds

Background info

Figure 2. Main screen of the BUMAC database.

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3. Exploring the database

3.1. Product Levels

BUMAC database has a specific structure for the categorization of the database

content. As can be seen at the left top of the screen (figure 2), the “Product Levels”

are divided in “Product Categories” and “Product Classes”. There are 13 Product

Categories for the classification of the consumer products. These are: air fresheners,

appliances, clothes and fabrics, decoration, electronic equipment, fireplaces, flowers

and plants, household products, personal care products/cosmetics, pest control, pet

care products, printed material and toys. Under each category there are the respective

product classes of the category. By clicking on a Product category someone can see

the product classes (subcategories) that belong to the specific category. For example

for the air fresheners’ category (figure 3) the respective product classes are: active

electric air fresheners, air freshening sprays, combustible air fresheners, ethereal oils,

incense and passive air fresheners. In total there are 54 product classes.

Figure 3. Product classes under a specific product category.

By clicking on the “Details” of a product class one can find useful information

regarding the product class use patterns (figure 4). Under each use pattern there are

answers to relevant questions (figure 5) on the product use taken from a survey report

that was conducted in the framework of the EPHECT Project (Survey

report "SURVEY ON INDOOR USE AND USE PATTERNS OF CONSUMER

PRODUCTS IN EU MEMBER STATES" Andrew Johnson, Elena Lucica,

Ipsos. February 2012).

By clicking on a product class (e.g. air fresheners) someone can see the products that

belong to the specific product class (figure 6).

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Figure 4. Product class use patterns under a specific product class.

Figure 5. Product class use pattern answer.

Figure 6. Products that belong to the specific product class.

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3.2. Experiments and Emissions

Under each product there may be one or more experiments which may differ at the

experiment conditions. By selecting the “Experiments and Emissions” option of the

horizontal menu at the right top of the screen, the Experiments report will appear

(figure 7).

Figure 7. Experiments report.

The user can view the “Experiment Form” (figure 8) of each experiment by clicking

on the “Details” icon ( ) of the respective experiment. The experiment details

include information on the experiment description and test conditions and give the

user the opportunity to see directly the respective emissions that were measured

during the experiment (“See Emissions” button).

Figure 8. Experiment Form.

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Another way to see the emissions of an experiment, is from the “Experiments Report”

screen (figure 7), by clicking on the experiment name and then the respective

“Emissions Report” will appear (figure 9). The emission report gives information

regarding the sampling time, the measured emission or concentration of the detected

compounds, including details on the instrument and methodology used. More detailed

information can be found by clicking on the “Details” icon. The database gives also

the possibility to view the emissions/concentration of an emitted compound in the

form of a bar chart (click on the icon).

Figure 9. Emissions Report.

At the left top of the “Emissions Report” under the search engine there are filters that

the user can select in order to choose the kind of categorization that he wishes to use

for the appearance of the emission results. At the search engine the user can select the

columns that he wishes to search (figure 10a) as well as to choose from the menu of

the available actions that can be performed (figure 10b).

(a) (b)

Figure 10. (a) Selection of columns to search, (b) Selections of actions to be

performed.

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3.3. Products

When selecting the option “Products” from the left top menu bar, a list of all existent

products in the database in alphabetical order, will appear (figure 11).

Figure 11. List of existent products in the database.

By clicking on the “Details” icon the user can view detailed information on the

product type, the product use, the product composition as well as answers on the

respective product class use patterns (figure 12). There is also the possibility to view

directly the products’ emitted compounds and the products’ emissions by clicking

respectively at the “See emitted Compounds” button and the “See Emissions” button

at the left bottom of the screen.

Figure 12. Product details.

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When clicking on a product name, while viewing the list of the existent products

(figure 11), the products’ “Emission Report” (figure 9) were appear for all the

experiments that were conducted at the specific product.

3.4. Compounds

When selecting the option “Compounds” from the left top menu bar, a list of all the

compounds of the database in numerical and alphabetical order, will appear (figure

13).

Figure 13. Report of Compounds.

The columns that appear include the details of the compound, its name, its CAS

number and a short description. By entering any key word or number at the search

engine the user can search through the Name, the CAS number and the Description

columns.

Figure 14. Compound form.

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By clicking on the “Details” button of a compound the user can view a lot of useful

information (figure 14). These include other names (synonyms) of the compound,

physical properties, health classification, reference limits and thresholds. There is also

the possibility to directly see the products that emit this specific compound (figure 15)

and the emissions of this compound (figure 16) by clicking on the respective “See..”

buttons.

Figure 15. Report of products that emit formaldehyde.

Figure 16. Emission report for formaldehyde.

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3.5. Background Info

The last option of the left top menu bar is “Background Info”. This section is sub-

divided to National Guidelines, Sources, Physical Properties, Limits, Thresholds,

Product uses and Product Class Use Pattern (figure 17). All this information is used in

different parts of the database. In some cases it is just complementary or explanatory

information. For instance, the “National Guidelines”, “Limits” and “Thresholds”

contain explanatory information on the limits and thresholds that may appear on the

“Compound form” (figure 14) of a compound. There is explanation for the code used

for each limit or threshold, full description of the acronym, the organization/country

that has produced it and any other important information (compound limits report and

compound threshold report).

Figure 17. Main screen of “Background Info”.

Figure 18. Compound limits report.

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The option “Sources” gives information on the sources/literature that were used for

obtaining the experiment and concentration/emission information. These sources

could be recognized laboratories that conducted the specific experiments in the

framework of the EPHECT Project or peer-reviewed scientific journals and

proceedings or reports.

Figure 19. Sources of the database.

The “Physical Properties” option (figure 20) provides information on the type of

physical properties that may appear on the “Compound form” (figure 14) of a

compound.

Figure 20. Physical Properties report.

Finally, the options Product uses and Product Class Use Pattern, provide explanatory

information on the product uses that may appear at the details of a product as well as

interpretation of the codes used for describing the product class use patterns.