A comparative study of respirable particulate microenvironmental concentrations and personal exposures

Personal monitoring (PM) for respirable suspended particulate matter (RSP) of thirty subjects was performed as part of an air pollution health effects study conducted in Houston, Texas. Parallel RSP measurements were performed in the study subjects' homes and two fixed site monitoring stations. The participants' daytime activities were independently recorded by study techicians. These data were used to characterize RSP concentrations in each microenvironment visited by the participants. Four estimates of daytime exposure to RSP were calculated based on two different microenvironmental models, and home and fixed site mean daytime RSP concentrations. These estimates were compared to mean daytime personal exposure from PM. Hourly estimates of exposure were calculated from a microenvironmental model and mean hourly home RSP concentrations and compared to hourly PM data. The results of the study indicate that, as in the case of NO2, it is important to characterize indoor microenvironmental RSP concentrations according to location, sources, and concurrent activities, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Stratification of concentrations according to sources present and self-reported activity can lead to misclassification of exposures. For RSP and, probably, other pollutants with indoor sources and with short exposure integration times, adequate measures of exposure can only be obtained with very detailed and complex microenvironmental models or comprehensive personal monitoring.