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THE 1999 FRESNO PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURE STUDIES: COMPARISON OF COMMUNITY, OUTDOOR, AND RESIDENTIAL PM MASS MEASUREMENTS
Citation:
Evans, G F., V R. Highsmith, L S. Sheldon, J C. Suggs, R W. Williams, R B. Zweidinger, J P. Creason, D. B. Walsh, C. E. Rodes, AND P. A. Lawless. THE 1999 FRESNO PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURE STUDIES: COMPARISON OF COMMUNITY, OUTDOOR, AND RESIDENTIAL PM MASS MEASUREMENTS. Presented at PM 2000 AWMA Conference, Charleston, SC, January 24-28, 2000.
Description:
Two collaborative studies have been conducted by the USEPA National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and the National Health Effects and Ecological Research Laboratory (NHEERL) to determine personal exposures and physiological responses to particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutant concentrations for elderly persons living in a retirement facility in. Fresno, California. The NHEERL was responsible for soliciting study participants from the facility and conducting physiological tests of their respiratory, cardiac and immune function. These tests were conducted daily over a 28-day period. The NERL was responsible for collecting concurrent daily measures of PM mass, toxic components of PM, and criteria air pollutants (i.e.,03 and CO). These measurements were made inside selected individual residences within the retirement facility and at an outdoor central site on the premises.
Personal PM exposure monitoring was conducted for a subset ofthe participants. In addition, complementary PM monitoring was conducted at the NERL PM Research Monitoring Platform in central Fresno to provide comparisons with the indoor/outdoor data. Both a winter and a spring study were completed so that seasonal effects could be evaluated. The winter study (Phase 1) was conducted from February 1-28, 1999. The spring study (Phase 2) was conducted from April 19 May 16, 1999. During Phase 2, in addition to repeating the measurements made in Phase 1, a more robust personal exposure component was added as well as a more detailed evaluation of physical factors, such as air exchange rate, which are known to influence the penetration of particles into the indoor environment. This paper will compare PM mass concentration measurements made at the NERL Platform site in Fresno, outside on the premises of the retirement facility, and inside selected residential apartments at the facility during the two 28-day study periods.
This work has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under contract #68-D50040 to the Research Triangle Institute. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use.