You are here:
DIRECT PERSONAL COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER CONCENTRATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA ADULT ASTHMA AND ENVIRONMENT STUDY.
Citation:
CASE, M. W., J. W. SCOTT, J. P. CREASON, R. B. DEVLIN, R. W. WILLIAMS, K. YEATTS, E. R. SVENDSEN, AND S. T. FERGUSON. DIRECT PERSONAL COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER CONCENTRATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA ADULT ASTHMA AND ENVIRONMENT STUDY. Presented at International Ssociety of Exposure Analysis Conference, Tuscon, AZ, October 30 - November 03, 2005.
Description:
A prototype coarse particulate matter PM(10-2.5) monitor was field evaluated as part of the North Carolina Adult Asthma and Environment Study (NCAAES). The NCAAES was designed to evaluate if airway and blood inflammatory markers in moderate asthmatic adults vary with changes in ambient PM exposures. To assess personal exposure to particulate matter, volunteers were asked to wear a prototype 3-stage impactor personal monitor developed by the Harvard School of Public Health for four consecutive days. Participants were asked to go about their normal routine and wear the monitor except for periods of sleep, bathing, or similar events. Daily 24-hour integrated ambient concentrations of PM(10-2.5) and PM(2.5) were measured with a Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P) Partisol Plus 2025D dichotomous air sampler. Personal PM(10-2.5) and PM(2.5) mass concentrations were obtained from 8 adults over a total of 25 days. Results indicated a daily range of personal PM(10-2.5) mass concentrations from 1.02 to 40.18 microgram/cubic meter with an overall mean of 13.03 microgram/cubic meter. For coarse particle concentration estimates for the four subjects with three or more measurements, the average correlation was r = 0.745 (S.D. 0.25). Correlations between personal coarse particle exposures and ambient-based PM(10-2.5) measurements, for subjects with three or more measurements, ranged from r = 0.44, (p-value = 0.55) to r = 0.98, (p = 0.10) over distances up to 48.3 km. Correlations between personal exposures and ambient-based PM(2.5) measurements ranged from r = 0.66, (p = 0.33) to r = 0.96, (p = 0.16). The prototype monitor appears capable of collecting PM(10-2.5) data in agreement with more established methodologies. Recommendations for its use will be provided. Although this work was reviewed by the EPA and approved for publication, it may not necessarily reflect official Agency policy.