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A new exposure metric for traffic-related air pollution? An analysis of determinants of hopanes in settled indoor house dust
Citation
Sbihi, H and Brook, JR and Allen, RW and Curran, JH and Dell, S and Mandhane, P and Scott, JA and Sears, MR and Subbarao, P and Takaro, TK and Turvey, SE and Wheeler, AJ and Brauer, M, A new exposure metric for traffic-related air pollution? An analysis of determinants of hopanes in settled indoor house dust, Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, 12 Article 48. ISSN 1476-069X (2013) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
DOI: doi:10.1186/1476-069X-12-48
Abstract
METHODS: In order to examine settled house dust levels of hopanes, engine lubricating oil byproducts found in vehicle exhaust, as a novel TRAP exposure measure, dust samples were collected from 171 homes in five Canadian cities and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. To evaluate source contributions, the relative abundance of the highest concentration hopane monomer in house dust was compared to that in outdoor air. Geographic variables related to TRAP emissions and outdoor NO2 concentrations from city-specific TRAP land use regression (LUR) models were calculated at each georeferenced residence location and assessed as predictors of variability in dust hopanes.
RESULTS: Hopanes relative abundance in house dust and ambient air were significantly correlated (Pearson's r=0.48, p<0.05), suggesting that dust hopanes likely result from traffic emissions. The proportion of variance in dust hopanes concentrations explained by LUR NO2 was less than 10% in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto while the correlations in Edmonton and Windsor explained 20 to 40% of the variance. Modeling with household factors such as air conditioning and shoe removal along with geographic predictors related to TRAP generally increased the proportion of explained variability (10-80%) in measured indoor hopanes dust levels.
CONCLUSIONS: Hopanes can consistently be detected in house dust and may be a useful tracer of TRAP exposure if determinants of their spatiotemporal variability are well-characterized, and when home-specific factors are considered.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Air pollution, Dust, Exposure assessment, Hopanes, Land use regression, Traffic |
| 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: | 101134 |
| Year Published: | 2013 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 6 |
| Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
| Deposited On: | 2015-06-10 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-03 |
| Downloads: | 249 View Download Statistics |
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