Journal article
Indoor measurements of air pollutants in residential houses in urban and suburban areas: Indoor versus ambient concentrations
The Science of the total environment, Vol.693, pp.133446-133446
11/25/2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.252
PMID: 31374501
Abstract
Indoor exposure to air pollutants was assessed through 99 visits to 51 homes located in downtown high-rise buildings and detached houses in suburban and rural areas. The ambient concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon (BC), particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), and trace elements were concurrently measured at a central monitoring site in downtown Toronto. Median hourly indoor concentrations for all measurements were 4700 particles/cm3 for UFP, 270 ng/m3 for BC, and 4 μg/m3 for PM2.5, which were lower than ambient outdoor levels by a factor of 2–3. Much higher variability was observed for indoor UFP and BC across the homes compared to ambient levels, mostly due to the influence of indoor cooking emissions. Traffic emissions appeared to have a strong influence on the indoor background (i.e., outdoor-originated) concentrations of BC, UFP, and some trace elements. Specifically, 85% and 34% of the indoor concentrations of BC and UFP were predominantly from outdoor sources, respectively. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between indoor concentrations of BC and UFP and total road length within a 300 m buffer zone. There was no significant decrease in indoor air pollution with increasing floor level among high-rise residences. In addition to the influence of outdoor sources on indoor air quality, indoor sources contributed to elevated concentrations of K, Ca, Cr, and Cu. A factor analysis was performed on trace elements, UFP, and BC in homes to further resolve possible sources. Local traffic emissions, soil dust, biomass burning, and regional coal combustion were identified as outdoor-originated sources, while cooking emissions was a dominant indoor source. This study highlights how outdoor sources can contribute to chronic exposure in indoor environments and how indoor activities can be associated with acute exposure to temporally varying indoor-originated air pollutants.
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•Extensive measurements of indoor air pollution were conducted for 99 home visits.•Indoor and outdoor sources were identified to better evaluate occupant exposure.•There was no effect of high-rise floor level on indoor air pollution.•Indoor activities such as cooking were major sources of acute exposure.•Residing near high road density may increase chronic exposure to traffic emissions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Indoor measurements of air pollutants in residential houses in urban and suburban areas: Indoor versus ambient concentrations
- Creators
- Cheol-Heon Jeong - Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSepehr Salehi - Division of Respirology and Multi-Organ Transplant Program, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaJoyce Wu - Division of Respirology and Multi-Organ Transplant Program, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaMichelle L North - Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaJong Sung Kim - Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaChung-Wai Chow - Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaGreg J Evans - Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Science of the total environment, Vol.693, pp.133446-133446
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.252
- PMID
- 31374501
- ISSN
- 0048-9697
- eISSN
- 1879-1026
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/501100000024, name: Canadian Institutes for Health Research, award: 301228
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/25/2019
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984214943002771
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