The spatial and temporal variation of particulate matter within the home

Wigzell, Edward; Kendall, Michaela; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

doi:10.1038/sj.jea.7500091

Cited by 31 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…It has been previously reported that people tend to stay for longer periods indoors than outdoors (GB Parliament House of Commons Environment Committee, 1991;Wigzell et al, 2000). As expected, outdoor microenvironments had higher concentrations than indoor, even though the former represented only the 22% of the overall sample measurements.…”

Section: Microenvironment and Geographical Location Exposure Concentrmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Until recently, most epidemiological studies have been conducted using fixed monitors either in an indoor and/or in outdoor microenvironment (Borja-Aburto et al, 1997;Chen et al, 1999;Gold et al, 1999). These devices yield only an average particulate matter concentration and do not reflect the fluctuations in particulate levels over the sampling period, and therefore, a less accurate measurement of PM personal exposure is obtained in comparison to light-scattering nephelometers that provide a more accurate and precise resolution of particulate matter measurements (Quintana et al, 2000;Wigzell et al, 2000). A published work that evaluated the performance of Personal DataRAM (2000) (pDRs) and Radiance nephelometer against measurements from both Harvard impactors (HI 2.5 ) and Harvard personal environmental monitors (HPEM 2.5 ) for PM 2.5 indoor, outdoor and personal settings showed that pDRs measurement of PM 2.5 could systematically overestimate the HPEM 2.5 measurements by approximately 27% (Liu et al, 2002).…”

Section: Study Considerations and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in Mexico City: a pilot study

Vallejo

Lerma

Infante

et al. 2004

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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This study was aimed to describe the personal exposure of permanent residents in Mexico City's Metropolitan Area (MCMA) to particulate matter of less than 2.5 mm diameter (PM 2.5 ) during their daily activities. A total of 40 healthy volunteers (30 women and 10 men) with sedentary activities were included. All of them carried a PM 2.5 personal monitor during 13 h and registered their activities in a written diary that classified them in indoor and outdoor microenvironments in each 30 min period. All sample collections started at 0900 hours, and even though measurements were obtained during the rainy season (April-August 2002), the relative humidity was less than 70%. The data were categorized and evaluated under the following criteria: morning and afternoon exposure, indoor and outdoor activities, and geographical location. The descriptive analysis showed that the overall outdoor median concentration of PM 2.5 (89.50 mg/m 3 ) was higher than the indoor one (67.55 mg/m 3 ). PM 2.5 concentrations in the morning to early afternoon were more elevated than in the late afternoon, suggesting a circadian-like behavior. In the indoor microenvironment, the highest concentration occurred in the subway (106.2 mg/m ). All the differences were statistically significant (Po0.05). Multivariate analysis corroborated that PM 2.5 concentrations are mainly determined by geographical locations and hour of the day, but not by the type of microenvironment. The inclusion of covariables in the multivariable analysis ensures a more accurate estimation and prediction of the real PM 2.5 concentrations. In conclusion, PM 2.5 personal exposure of healthy adult permanent residents of MCMA is usually higher than recommended by the international standards in outdoor and even in indoor microenvironments. Particulate matter personal exposure varies in relation to hour of the day, daily activities and microenvironments.

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Section: Microenvironment and Geographical Location Exposure Concentrmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Study Considerations and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in Mexico City: a pilot study

Vallejo

Lerma

Infante

et al. 2004

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In both cases, the case was at arm's length and the inlet thus close to breathing zone. It is unlikely that there would have been large concentration gradients between breathing zone and the inlet, as PM 2.5 is quite homogeneously distributed because of its small size ( Wigzell et al, 2000 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photometrically measured continuous personal PM2.5 exposure: Levels and correlation to a gravimetric method

Lanki¹,

Alm²,

Ruuskanen

et al. 2002

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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There is evidence that hourly variations in exposure to airborne particulate matter ( PM ) may be associated with adverse health effects. Still there are only few published data on short -term levels of personal exposure to PM in community settings. The objectives of the study were to assess hourly and shorter -term variations in personal PM 2.5 exposure in Helsinki, Finland, and to compare results from portable photometers to simultaneously measured gravimetric concentrations. The effect of relative humidity on the photometric results was also evaluated. Personal PM 2.5 exposures of elderly persons were assessed for 24 h every second week, resulting in 308 successful measurements from 47 different subjects. Large changes in concentrations in minutes after cooking or changing microenvironment were seen. The median of daily 1 -h maxima was over twice the median of 24 -h averages. There was a strong significant association between the two means, which was not linear. Median ( 95th percentile ) of the photometric 24 -h concentrations was 12.1 ( 37.7 ) and of the 24 -h gravimetric concentrations 9.2 ( 21.3 ) g / m 3 . The correlation between the photometric and the gravimetric method was quite good ( R 2 = 0.86 ). Participants spent 94.1% of their time indoors or in a vehicle, where relative humidity is usually low and thus not likely to cause significant effects on photometric results. Even outdoors, the relative humidity had only modest effect on concentrations. Photometers are a promising method to explore the health effects of short -term variation in personal PM 2.5 exposure.

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“…Particle concentrations were elevated by burning two sticks of incense and shaking a used vacuum cleaner bag, and the door was closed. The subsequent decay of particles to background levels was monitored concurrently at 1-min intervals for a period of approximately 2 h. Using the colocation data, one OPC was calibrated relative to the other as a reference using linear regressions of the concentrations of each of the six particle bins measured with each counter, similar to the method in Wigzell et al (2000).…”

Section: Upstream-downstream Removal Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Test Methods for Determining the Particle Removal Efficiency of Filters in Residential and Light-Commercial Central HVAC Systems

Stephens

Siegel

2012

Aerosol Science and Technology

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Central heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) filters are often the dominant mechanism for particle removal in buildings. However, little is known about filter performance in real environments, particularly in residential and light-commercial buildings where particle concentrations and compositions can be very different from laboratory test conditions. This article explores differences in HVAC filter test protocols and refines a whole-house method for in situ testing of filters for size-resolved particle removal efficiencies. Results from the in situ method are compared with those from a simple upstream-downstream method for three types of commercially available filters in an unoccupied test house. Results from both field methods are compared with standardized laboratory test results as measured by an independent laboratory and as reported by the manufacturer. In general, comparisons between filter efficiency as measured by the refined whole-house method and as measured by the upstream-downstream method resulted in similar values of particle removal efficiency for many particle sizes and compared well with standardized lab tests, although experimental uncertainties were generally greatest for the whole-house method. However, the refined whole-house method has the added benefit of allowing an investigation of more particle interactions in an indoor environment, including deposition to ductwork and other HVAC system components, exfiltration through duct leakage, and bypass airflow around filters. Both field methods can be used to investigate the effects of HVAC system characteristics and dust loading on filter efficiency in real environments.

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The spatial and temporal variation of particulate matter within the home

Cited by 31 publications

References 5 publications

Personal exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in Mexico City: a pilot study

Personal exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in Mexico City: a pilot study

Photometrically measured continuous personal PM2.5 exposure: Levels and correlation to a gravimetric method

Comparison of Test Methods for Determining the Particle Removal Efficiency of Filters in Residential and Light-Commercial Central HVAC Systems

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