Airborne Particulate Matter in Two Multi-Family Green Buildings: Concentrations and Effect of Ventilation and Occupant Behavior

Abstract

There are limited data on air quality parameters, including airborne particulate matter (PM) in residential green buildings, which are increasing in prevalence. Exposure to PM is associated with cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, and since Americans spend almost 90% of their time indoors, residential exposures may substantially contribute to overall airborne PM exposure. Our objectives were to: (1) measure various PM fractions longitudinally in apartments in multi-family green buildings with natural (Building E) and mechanical (Building L) ventilation; (2) compare indoor and outdoor PM mass concentrations and their ratios (I/O) in these buildings, taking into account the effects of occupant behavior; and (3) evaluate the effect of green building designs and operations on indoor PM. We evaluated effects of ventilation, occupant behaviors, and overall building design on PM mass concentrations and I/O. Median PMTOTAL was higher in Building E (56 µg/m3) than in Building L (37 µg/m3); I/O was higher in Building E (1.3–2.0) than in Building L (0.5–0.8) for all particle size fractions. Our data show that the building design and occupant behaviors that either produce or dilute indoor PM (e.g., ventilation systems, combustion sources, and window operation) are important factors affecting residents’ exposure to PM in residential green buildings.

Comparison of real-time instruments and gravimetric method when measuring particulate matter in a residential building

“…Similarly, the nephelometer and photometer reported slightly lower concentrations when the OPC number mean was larger (r = −0.3, p=0.08 for pDR-1500 and r=−0.2, p=0.18 for DustTrak DRX). Although the humidity inside the building was higher than outdoors during the summer and lower than outdoors during the heating season, we did not observe associations between humidity and real-time pDR or Dustrak DRX measurements (Patton et al, 2016). While readings of optical monitors are known to be substantially affected by relative humidity levels >80% (Wallace et al, 2011, Fischer and Koshland, 2006), the range of relative humidity experienced during measurements (13 %– 68%) would be unlikely to affect readings by more than ~5% (Yu et al, 2015), a difference much smaller than other differences among apartments in the study.…”

“…The highest recorded PM 2.5 mass concentration was 156 μg/m 3 , and obtained from a pDR-1500 direct reading. Indoor and outdoor measurements from the DustTrak DRX on the same day showed that concentrations of PM 2.5 were typically higher indoors than outdoors; ratios of indoor concentrations to outdoor concentrations (both measured by DustTrak DRX) ranged from 0.53 to 9.26 (mean = 2.03, median = 1.41) (Patton et al, 2016). During measurements, investigators observed open windows in 25 apartments, closed windows in 16 apartments, and window air conditioning units in 10 apartments.…”

“…A growing body of research suggests that green buildings have better indoor environmental (e.g., air quality, thermal comfort) quality and occupant satisfaction, productivity, and health than non-green buildings (Abbaszadeh et al, 2006, Ahrentzen et al, 2012, Eichholtz, Kok, and Quigley, 2013). At the same time, data on PM in residential green buildings are only beginning to appear in the peer-reviewed literature and control of indoor PM concentrations is proposed in few green building certifications (Colton et al, 2014, Patton et al, 2016, Wei, Ramalho, and Mandin, 2015). The construction and operation of individual green buildings, as well as occupant behaviors, may strongly affect measured mass concentrations and indoor/outdoor ratios of PM (Patton et al, 2016).…”

“…At the same time, data on PM in residential green buildings are only beginning to appear in the peer-reviewed literature and control of indoor PM concentrations is proposed in few green building certifications (Colton et al, 2014, Patton et al, 2016, Wei, Ramalho, and Mandin, 2015). The construction and operation of individual green buildings, as well as occupant behaviors, may strongly affect measured mass concentrations and indoor/outdoor ratios of PM (Patton et al, 2016). …”

Building and indoor environmental quality assessment of Nigerian primary schools: A pilot study

“…Studies have also associated thermal comfort with ventilation adequacy . Especially in crowded indoor environments, such as schools, adequate ventilation is needed to replace stale indoor air with cleaner air . Ventilation is expected to help replenish indoor oxygen while simultaneously reducing concentrations of CO 2 and other bioeffluents and pollutants .…”