Assessment of indoor PM2.5 in different residential environments

Yassin, Mohamed F.; AlThaqeb, Bothaina E.Y.; Al-Mutiri, Eman A.E.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.03.051

Cited by 43 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Although there are innumerable outdoor sources, there are also internal sources responsible for the emission of particles, which can assume a special role in situations of high intensity use of indoor spaces, such as during a confinement situation. One of the main sources of particles inside residential buildings is cooking, as food preparation causes the emission of vapor, smokes, and aerosols [ 86 , 87 ] and smoke and effluents can be released indoor if there is a lack of a suitable extraction system and by indirect paths due to the possibility of gas-reentry through the infiltration airflow [ 88 , 89 ]. While not as common in residential buildings as they are in offices and public buildings, the presence of printers may also contribute to particle emissions—they are a significant VOC source [ 90 ]; however, due to the wide spread of teleworking and tele-teaching during confinement, their presence increased significantly in homes, as well as their use, so they must be taken into account in the analyses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Domínguez-Amarillo

Fernández-Agüera

Cesteros-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

111

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During the first outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the population, focusing primarily on the risk of infection, was generally inattentive to the quality of indoor air. Spain, and the city of Madrid in particular, were among the world’s coronavirus hotspots. The country’s entire population was subject to a 24/7 lockdown for 45 days. This paper describes a comparative longitudinal survey of air quality in four types of housing in the city of Madrid before and during lockdown. The paper analysed indoor temperatures and variations in CO2, 2.5 μm particulate matter (PM2.5) and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations before and during lockdown. The mean daily outdoor PM2.5 concentration declined from 11.04 µg/m3 before to 7.10 µg/m3 during lockdown. Before lockdown the NO2 concentration values scored as ‘very good’ 46% of the time, compared to 90.9% during that period. Although the city’s outdoor air quality improved, during lockdown the population’s exposure to indoor pollutants was generally more acute and prolonged. Due primarily to concern over domestic energy savings, the lack of suitable ventilation and more intensive use of cleaning products and disinfectants during the covid-19 crisis, indoor pollutant levels were typically higher than compatible with healthy environments. Mean daily PM2.5 concentration rose by approximately 12% and mean TVOC concentration by 37% to 559%. The paper also puts forward a series of recommendations to improve indoor domestic environments in future pandemics and spells out urgent action to be taken around indoor air quality (IAQ) in the event of total or partial quarantining to protect residents from respiratory ailments and concomitantly enhanced susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, as identified by international medical research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Domínguez-Amarillo

Fernández-Agüera

Cesteros-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

111

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“…Moreover, a thorough chemical characterization of PM, which is composed of thousands of chemical species, is practically unfeasible. Up to now, most of the studies about indoor atmospheric PM were in fact focused on PM mass concentration only (mostly PM 2.5 : Abdel‐Salam, ; He et al., ; Massey et al., ; Meng et al., ; Yassin et al., ) or on individual PM components or groups of components, such as water‐soluble ions or/and elemental and organic carbon (EC, OC) or/and elements (Graney et al., ; Hasheminassab et al., ; Kulshrestha et al., ; Lazaridis et al., ; Molnar et al., , ; Na et al., ; Rivas et al., ). The widest ones among the above studies, although far from reaching a complete speciation of PM, include the determination of a very high number of components, microcomponents, and source tracers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical characterization of indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter in an occupied apartment in Rome, Italy

2015

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The daily concentration and chemical composition of PM2.5 was determined in indoor and outdoor 24-h samples simultaneously collected for a total of 5 weeks during a winter and a summer period in an apartment sited in Rome, Italy. The use of a specifically developed very quiet sampler (<35 dB) allowed the execution of the study while the family living in the apartment led its normal life. The indoor concentration of PM2.5 showed a small seasonal variation, while outdoor values were much higher during the winter study. Outdoor sources were found to contribute significantly to indoor PM concentration especially during the summer, when the apartment was naturally ventilated by opening the windows. During the winter the infiltration of outdoor PM components was lower and mostly regulated by the particle dimensions. Organics displayed In/Out ratios higher than unity during both periods; their indoor production increased significantly during the weekends, where the family stayed mostly at home. PM components were grouped into macrosources (soil, sea, secondary inorganics, traffic, organics). During the summer the main contributions to outdoor PM2.5 came from soil (30%), secondary inorganics (29%) and organics (22%). Organics dominated both indoor PM2.5 during the summer (60%) and outdoor and indoor PM2.5 during the winter (51% and 66%, respectively).

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“…The first research work on indoor particulate matter (PM 10 ) in Beirut -a city which experiences elevated outdoor PM levels-was conducted by Saliba et al (2009) and indicated specific ionic tracers that infiltrate to indoor environments. A study focusing on the investigation of indoor PM 2.5 levels in different house parts (living room, kitchen and bedroom) and on the assessment of PM 2.5 indoor levels in different residential areas of Kuwait was conducted by Yassin et al (2012) who highlighted the aggravated domestic air quality compared to that of houses in other countries. Another study that took place in Kuwait and Pakistan aimed at identifying the profiles of several classes of organic contaminants in indoor dust (Ali et al, 2013) and in parallel, at estimating the exposure of toddlers and adults to these chemicals through dust ingestion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Characterization of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10) in Doha, Qatar

Saraga

Maggos

Sadoun³

et al. 2017

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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ABSTRACTΤhe extreme weather conditions in Middle East Area led to the construction of tightly sealed, air conditioned buildings, characterized by indoor air quality deterioration. This study presents the results of chemical characterization of outdoor and indoor PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Doha city, over a two-month period including normal days and dust events, aiming at identifying the factors affecting the indoor air of an office building. The WHO guideline values were exceeded in 100% of the outdoor measurements. 49% of the days of the sampling campaign were characterized as non-dusty (PM 10 < 200 µg m ). The contribution of both dust and anthropogenic emissions sources is depicted in particles' mass and chemical composition. The elevated -especially outdoor-levels of carbonate carbon indicate the presence of crustal matter originating from the surrounding crustal material. OC/EC values reveal possible combined contribution from secondary organic aerosol, trafficrelated sources and re-suspended dust. The influence of anthropogenic emissions is implied by the predominance of nitrate and sulfate ions, which constitute a substantial percentage of the particle mass. The crustal origin of particles is also depicted in metals. However, the higher enrichment factor values which may imply anthropogenic activities of both the outdoor and indoor environment were determined sequentially for Cd, Pb, As, Cu and Zn, suggesting the role of infiltration. Concluding, the indoor to outdoor relationship is significantly influenced by particles infiltration and penetration into the building mainly through the ventilation system and to a lesser extent, through windows or cracks in the building envelope. Although the low indoor to outdoor ratio underlies the predominance of outdoor levels compared to the indoor ones, there is positive correlation between indoor and outdoor PM, during the days that the building was open to the public and employees.

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Assessment of indoor PM2.5 in different residential environments

Cited by 43 publications

References 10 publications

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Chemical characterization of indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter in an occupied apartment in Rome, Italy

Chemical Characterization of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10) in Doha, Qatar

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