Abstract |
An indoor air quality study of 300 homes in the Kingston/Harriman area of East Tennessee was conducted during 1985-86. This location is one of six locations selected in a larger Harvard University study to evaluate air quality and respiratory health. Homes in each study city were selected based on the participation of a school child in the concurrent Harvard Acute Respiratory Health Study. Eight groups of houses were chosen based on the presence or absence of the following sources: cigarette smoking, wood stoves, and kerosene heaters. A group of 'core' measurements is being conducted in all six of the Harvard study cities for nitrogen dioxide, respirable particulate matter, water vapor, and air exchange rates. A detailed questionnaire of home characteristics and occupant behavior is also administered. Supplemental indoor air quality measurements were conducted in the Kingston/Harriman study for radon, formaldehyde, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and airborne micro-organisms. Measurements were made for a two-week period (except for radon and micro-organisms) in each house during the winter season and again during the summer season. Both vapor phase and particulate phase polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons were monitored. Viable airborne bacteria and fungi were sampled in a large subset of houses. Detailed energy use/weatherization surveys were conducted by utility trained auditors. Study protocols and preliminary monitoring results are presented. (Copyright (c) American Society for Testing and Materials, 1989.) |