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INDOOR, OUTDOOR, AND PERSONAL EXPOSURE MONITORING OF PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION: THE BALTIMORE ELDERLY EPIDEMIOLOGY-EXPOSURE PILOT STUDY
Citation:
Williams, R W., J P. Creason, R B. Zweidinger, R R. Watts, L S. Sheldon, AND C. M. Shy. INDOOR, OUTDOOR, AND PERSONAL EXPOSURE MONITORING OF PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION: THE BALTIMORE ELDERLY EPIDEMIOLOGY-EXPOSURE PILOT STUDY. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT 34(24):4193-4204, (2000).
Impact/Purpose:
The primary study objectives are:
1.To quantify personal exposures and indoor air concentrations for PM/gases for potentially sensitive individuals (cross sectional, inter- and intrapersonal).
2.To describe (magnitude and variability) the relationships between personal exposure, and indoor, outdoor and ambient air concentrations for PM/gases for different sensitive cohorts. These cohorts represent subjects of opportunity and relationships established will not be used to extrapolate to the general population.
3.To examine the inter- and intrapersonal variability in the relationship between personal exposures, and indoor, outdoor, and ambient air concentrations for PM/gases for sensitive individuals.
4.To identify and model the factors that contribute to the inter- and intrapersonal variability in the relationships between personal exposures and indoor, outdoor, and ambient air concentrations for PM/gases.
5.To determine the contribution of ambient concentrations to indoor air/personal exposures for PM/gases.
6.To examine the effects of air shed (location, season), population demographics, and residential setting (apartment vs stand-alone homes) on the relationship between personal exposure and indoor, outdoor, and ambient air concentrations for PM/gases.
Description:
A 17-day pilot study investigating potential PM exposures of an elderly population was conducted near Baltimore, Maryland. Collection of residential indoor, residential outdoor, and ambient monitoring data associated with the subjects living at a common retirement facility was integrated with results from a paired epidemiological pilot study. This integration was used to investigate the potential pathophysiological health effects resulting from daily changes in estimated PM exposures with results reported elsewhere. Objectives of the exposure study were to determine the feasibility of performing PM exposure assessment upon an elderly population and establishing relationships between the various exposure measures including personal monitoring. PM2.5 was determined to be the dominant outdoor size fraction (0.83 PM2.5 /PM10 mass ratio by dichot monitoring). Individual 24-hr PM1.5 personal exposures ranged from 12 to 58 ?g m-3. Comparison of data from matched sampling dates resulted in mean daily PM1.5 personal, PM2.5 outdoor, and PM1.5 indoor concentrations of 34, 17, and 17 ug m-3, respectively. Activity patterns of the study population indicated a generally sedentary population spending a mean of 96% of each day indoors. Future studies would benefit from the use of a consistent sampling methodology across a larger number of PM measurement sites relevant to the elderly subjects, as well as a larger personal PM exposure study population to more successfully collect data needed in matched epidemiological-exposure studies.
The US Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development conducted the research described here. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not consitutue endorsement or recommendation for use.