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THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICULATE MATTER OF AMBIENT ORIGIN UPON INDOOR RESIDENTIAL MASS CONCENTRATIONS INVOLVING SENSITIVE SUBPOPULATIONS-RESULTS FROM LONGITUDINAL PANEL STUDIES
Citation:
Williams, R W., J C. Suggs, A W. Rea, L S. Sheldon, A F. Vette, J M. Burke, C Croghan, K Leovic, J P. Creason, D Walsh, C. Rhodes, J. Thornburg, P. A. Lawless, A. Ejire, M. Herbst, AND W. Sanders Jr. THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICULATE MATTER OF AMBIENT ORIGIN UPON INDOOR RESIDENTIAL MASS CONCENTRATIONS INVOLVING SENSITIVE SUBPOPULATIONS-RESULTS FROM LONGITUDINAL PANEL STUDIES. Presented at PM Indoor Air Quality and Engineering Solutions Symposium, Research Triangle Park, NC, July 21-23, 2003.
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:
The US EPA has completed field data collections from a series of longitudinal particulate matter (PM) exposure panel field studies. These studies were conducted in Baltimore, Maryland (1998), Fresno, California (1999), and Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina (2000-2001) and were designed to evaluate factors influencing the contribution of particulate matter of ambient origin upon residential indoor settings. Residences from various non-smoking sub-populations that might be sensitive to ambient particulate matter exposures (e.g., the elderly, hypertensive, cardiac impaired) were investigated. Geographical settings, seasons, and housing stock were also important variables. The studies were of sufficient duration (28 days) and size (20-60 individuals) to investigate both longitudinal and cross-sectional correlations between personal, residential indoor, residential outdoor, and ambient PM measurements. Residential measurements of PM2.5 and PM10 were routinely collected. Extensive daily questionnaires were used to gather information on household practices and factors that might influence particle infiltration. Mean indoor/outdoor PM2.5 mass concentration ratios from all of the study locations were observed to range from 0.49 to 1.12. Data from the RTP study, where 38 private homes were monitored in comparison to the communal settings (retirement facilities) in Baltimore and Fresno, permitted a more detailed examination of particulate matter indoor/outdoor ratios. The RTP results revealed a wide range in the magnitude and variability of individual residential indoor PM2.5 24-hr average PM mass concentrations (4 -119 ug/m3) over the course of one year.
This research was sponsored by U.S. EPA contracts 68-D-99-012 and 68-D5-0040 to RTI International and cooperative agreement CR-828186-01-0 to Shaw University. 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.