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COOKING-RELATED PARTICLE CONCENTRATIONS MEASURED IN AN OCCUPIED TOWNHOME IN RESTON, VA
Citation:
HowardReed, C, L A. Wallace, AND S. J. Emmerich. COOKING-RELATED PARTICLE CONCENTRATIONS MEASURED IN AN OCCUPIED TOWNHOME IN RESTON, VA. Presented at ISEA 2000 Exposure Analysis in the 21st Century: Integrating Science, Policy and Quality of Life, Monterey Peninsula, CA, October 24-27, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
The main objective is to investigate human exposure to fine and coarse particles (and PAHs) from several important sources such as cooking, woodsmoke, and household cleaning. A second objective is to investigate the observed increased personal exposure (compared to indoor air concentrations measured by a fixed monitor) to particles: the so-called "personal cloud," that has been observed in many occupational and some environmental studies. A third objective is to incorporate the findings into a mass-balance indoor air quality model.
Description:
In non-smoking households, cooking is one of the most significant sources of indoor particles. To date, there are limited data available regarding indoor particle concentrations generated by different types of cooking. To increase the knowledge base associated with particles generated by cooking, a one-year study was conducted to continuously measure particle concentrations and air change rates during cooking events by the occupants of a townhome located in Reston, VA. All cooking took place on the second level of the three-level 400 cubic meter home. A Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS; TSI, Inc.), located on the bottom level of the house, measured ultrafine particles from 0.01 micrometers to ~ 0.5 micrometers every five minutes. An Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS; TSI, Inc.), located on different levels of the home during the study, measured 0.5 micrometer to 20 micrometer particles every minute. Four Climet Model 500-I optical scattering devices (Climet Instruments, Inc.) were used to measure 0.3 micrometer to > 10 micrometer particles every five minutes on each floor of the townhome as well as outdoors. To determine air change rates, a gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC/ECD) was used to measure the decay of sulfur hexafluoride on each level of the house. Indoor particle concentrations were measured for more than 500 cooking events during the year. Types of cooking that significantly increased indoor ultrafine particle concentrations included boiling water, baking, making popcorn, broiling, sauteeing, and deep-frying using a gas range. Broiling, deep-frying, frying, and stir-frying also elevated levels of fine particles above background. The number of particles emitted during different types of cooking events and associated deposition rates may be used to calculate particle exposures of people due to cooking.
The research described in this abstract has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.