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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 Walsh, C. E. Rodes, AND P. A. Lawless. THE 1999 FRESNO PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURE STUDIES: COMPARISON OF COMMUNITY, OUTDOOR, AND RESIDENTIAL PM MASS MEASUREMENTS. JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 50(11):1887-1896, (2000).
Impact/Purpose:
The primary study objective is to quantify the association(s) between day-to-day or experimental variations in ambient air particle mass concentrations and selected physiological functions in elderly persons living in a retirement centers or involved in selected clinical studies. The NERL will conduct exposure studies and provide real-time and integrated PM mass concentration and selected criteria pollutant data to assist the NHEERL collaborators conducting physiological monitoring in establishing selected health effect associations resulting from potential human exposures to PM-related air pollutants.
Description:
Two collaborative studies have been conducted by the USEPA National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) to determine personal exposures and physiological responses to particulate matter (PM) for elderly persons living in a retirement facility in Fresno, California. Measurements of PM and other criteria air pollutants were made inside selected individual residences within the retirement facility and at a central outdoor site on the premises. In addition, personal PM exposure monitoring was conducted for a subset of the participants, and ambient PM monitoring data were available for comparison from the NERL PM Research Monitoring Platform in central Fresno. Both a winter (February 1-28, 1999) and a spring (April 19 - May 16, 1999) study were completed so that seasonal effects could be evaluated. During the spring study, 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. In this paper, comparisons are made among measured personal PM exposures and PM mass concentrations measured at the NERL Fresno Platform site, outside on the premises of the retirement facility, and inside selected residential apartments at the facility during the two 28-day study periods. The arithmetic daily mean personal PM2.5 exposure during the winter study period was 13.3 ug/m3, compared with 9.7, 20.5, and 21.7 ug/m3 for daily mean overall apartment, outdoor, and ambient (i.e., platform) concentrations, respectively. The daily mean personal PM2.5 exposure during the spring study period was 11.1 ug/m3, compared with 8.0, 10.1, and 8.6 ug/m3 for the daily mean apartment, outdoor, and ambient concentrations, respectively.
The information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through Contract No. 68-D5-0040 to the Research Triangle Institute. It has been subjected to Agency review and publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitutute an endorsement or recommendation for use.