Indoor particulate matter in urban residences of Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

Indoor particulate matter samples were collected in 17 homes in an urban area in Alexandria during the summer season. During air measurement in all selected homes, parallel outdoor air samples were taken in the balconies of the domestic residences. It was found that the mean indoor PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 2.5 and 10 m, respectively) concentrations were 53.5 AE 15.2 and 77.2 AE 15.1 µg/m 3 , respectively. The corresponding mean outdoor levels were 66.2 AE 16.5 and 123.8 AE 32.1 µg/m 3 , respectively. PM 2.5 concentrations accounted, on average, for 68.8 AE 12.8% of the total PM 10 concentrations indoors, whereas PM 2.5 contributed to 53.7 AE 4.9% of the total outdoor PM 10 concentrations. The median indoor/outdoor mass concentration (I/O) ratios were 0.81 (range: 0.43-1.45) and 0.65 (range: 0.4-1.07) for PM 2.5 and PM 10 , respectively. Only four homes were found with I/O ratios above 1, indicating significant contribution from indoor sources. Poor correlation was seen between the indoor PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels and the corresponding outdoor concentrations. PM 10 levels were significantly correlated with PM 2.5 loadings indoors and outdoors and this might be related to PM 10 and PM 2.5 originating from similar particulate matter emission sources. Smoking, cooking using gas stoves, and cleaning were the major indoor sources contributed to elevated indoor levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 .Implications: The current study presents results of the first PM 2.5 and PM 10 study in homes located in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Scarce data are available on indoor air quality in Egypt. Poor correlation was seen between the indoor and outdoor particulate matter concentrations. Indoor sources such as smoking, cooking, and cleaning were found to be the major contributors to elevated indoor levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 .

Effect of Personal Exposure to PM2.5 on Respiratory Health in a Mexican Panel of Patients with COPD

“…The subjects of this study spent the majority of their day indoors; this, domestic sources reported previously (pets, mold, cooking, aerosol use) likely played a very important role in personal exposure [ 32 ]. Smoking inside the home and the use of carpets (in the house) are also significant domestic sources of PM 2.5 [ 32 , 42 , 43 ]. In this study, despite the fact that some relatives of some of the participants reported smoking in the home, passive smoking was not a significant source in the model of personal exposure to PM 2.5 or in the model for a decrease in PEF.…”

Chemical characterization of indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter in an occupied apartment in Rome, Italy

“…Moreover, a thorough chemical characterization of PM, which is composed of thousands of chemical species, is practically unfeasible. Up to now, most of the studies about indoor atmospheric PM were in fact focused on PM mass concentration only (mostly PM 2.5 : Abdel‐Salam, ; He et al., ; Massey et al., ; Meng et al., ; Yassin et al., ) or on individual PM components or groups of components, such as water‐soluble ions or/and elemental and organic carbon (EC, OC) or/and elements (Graney et al., ; Hasheminassab et al., ; Kulshrestha et al., ; Lazaridis et al., ; Molnar et al., , ; Na et al., ; Rivas et al., ). The widest ones among the above studies, although far from reaching a complete speciation of PM, include the determination of a very high number of components, microcomponents, and source tracers.…”

Investigation of PM2.5 and carbon dioxide levels in urban homes

“…In fact, the increase of indoor fine PM concentration is mainly affected by outdoor traffic emissions, which contribute to a considerable amount of airborne fine particles in urban areas (Riley et al, 2002;Perez et al, 2010). When indoor sources are present, indoor PM concentrations can be higher than outdoor PM concentrations (Zhang et al, 2010;Abdel-Salam, 2012, 2013. Fine particles, in both indoor and outdoor air, were found to have the most serious effects on health, including increasing rates of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality and morbidity, as these are easily inhaled into the alveolar region (Heidi, 2000;Pope et al, 2002Pope et al, , 2009WHO, 2006).…”