Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor as an Indoor Disinfectant: Removal to Indoor Materials and Associated Emissions of Organic Compounds

Vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP) has been used to disinfect a wide range of biological contaminants in buildings. It has attracted renewed attention for inactivation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on N95 respirators, allowing their subsequent reuse, as well as potential use for decontamination of indoor spaces frequented by those who have COVID-19. Knowledge of VHP removal to indoor materials and associated emissions of organic compounds have not been widely reported but would be valuable for indoor disinfection planning. Twenty-three building materials were individually exposed to VHP at typical disinfectant concentrations in small chamber experiments. Deposition velocities for VHP and area-normalized masses of organic compound release were quantified for each material and compared with results from studies involving ozone (O₃) and chlorine dioxide (OClO) at similar disinfectant concentrations using similar materials in the same experimental system. Higher (typically >200 cm h^–1) but relatively constant VHP deposition velocities were observed for most materials. In contrast, the deposition velocity for O₃ and OClO decayed when exposed to the same materials. Relatively low levels (<2 mg m^–2) of quantified emissions were released from materials over an approximate 6 h period following exposure to VHP, values lower than those observed for ozone.