Concentrations of airborne continuous fine particulate matter or (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and ultrafine particles (UFP) were continuously measured over 5 days in winter and summer both indoors and outdoors at residences for forty-eight adults in 2005 and forty-seven asthmatic children in 2006. During 2006, personal concentrations of PM2.5 were also measured continuously. All 4 continuous instruments employed performed well both in laboratory and field conditions. Mean outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, BC, and UFP were significantly higher than either indoor or personal concentrations. Air exchange rates were low (median value only 0.2/h), there was widespread use of central forced air and high-quality furnace filters. Outdoor concentrations of all particle-related pollutants showed overnight decreases followed by increases during the morning rush hours. Afternoon concentrations increased for UFP and decreased for BC, with PM2.5 staying about the same. Between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, indoor UFP and PM2.5 concentrations exceeded their mean daily values by 160% and 60%, respectively, suggesting that cooking is an extremely important source for these two pollutants. However, BC values did not increase at these hours. The highest indoor–outdoor ratios were observed for UFP suggesting that indoor sources were relatively more important for UFP than for other particle components. BC measurements in Windsor agreed moderately well (R2 = 41%) with an independent measure of elemental carbon (EC) in Detroit. This large residential air pollution study has provided data making it possible to identify short-term variations and possible sources that can influence the relationships between pollutants and environments.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	particulate matter, indoor air quality, UFP, personal exposure
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Human resources and industrial relations
Research Field:	Occupational and workplace health and safety
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Wheeler, AJ (Dr Amanda Wheeler)
ID Code:	101117
Year Published:	2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:	67
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2015-06-10
Last Modified:	2017-11-03
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