Particulate matter concentrations in social housing

Mendell, Alexander Y; Mahdavi, Alireza; Siegel, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1016/j.scs.2021.103503

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…and France 51,52 (Table S14). These higher levels could be caused by the generally higher prevalence of cigarette smoking in our study (e.g., 25%–35% in our study vs. 10% in the study conducted in France) 42,57 . Benzo[b]fluoranthene (median = 0.173 ng/m 3 ) was the least abundant PAH among all highly detected PAHs in our study; however, it was the dominant PAH measured in French MURBs 52 with a median concentration of 0.306 ng/m 3 .…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Quantitative filter forensics for semivolatile organic compounds in social housing apartments

2022

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Residents from low‐income social housing are vulnerable to adverse health effects from indoor air pollution. Particle‐bound concentrations of eight phthalates and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor air were measured using quantitative filter forensics with portable air cleaners deployed for three one‐week periods from 2015 to 2017. The sample included 143 apartments across seven multi‐unit social housing buildings in Toronto, Canada, that went through energy retrofits in 2016. Eight phthalates and six PAHs were found in more than 50% of the apartments in either of the three sampling periods. Di(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and phenanthrene were the dominant phthalate and PAH, with median concentrations of 146, 143, and 130 ng/m3 and 1.51, 0.58, and 0.76 ng/m3 in the late spring of 2015, and after retrofits in late spring 2017 and winter of 2017, respectively. SVOC concentrations were generally lower after energy retrofits, with significant differences for phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Lower concentrations post‐retrofit may be related to less overheating and less need for opening windows. Concentrations of phthalates and PAHs in this study were similar to or higher than those reported in the literature. Results suggest that the use of portable air filters is a promising method to assess concentrations of indoor particle‐bound SVOCs.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Quantitative filter forensics for semivolatile organic compounds in social housing apartments

2022

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“…Alphasense OPC‐N2 monitors were deployed only in 2017. No direct comparisons were made between the two monitors, as it was determined that there is too much difference in their response 26 . After excluding monitoring periods with less than 2.5 days of complete data and the limited number of DC1700 measurements from 2017, there were 206 sets of continuous PM measurements.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No direct comparisons were made between the two monitors, as it was determined that there is too much difference in their response. 26 After excluding monitoring periods with less than 2.5 days of complete data and the limited number of DC1700 measurements from 2017, there were 206 sets of continuous PM measurements. OPC-N2 monitors report a native PM 2.5 mass concentration equivalent 27 ; for the DC1700 monitors, the conversion factor from Semple et al 28 was used.…”

Section: Measured Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For simplicity, these reported mass concentrations are subsequently referred to as measured concentrations. The collection and analysis of these PM measurements are described further in Mendell et al 26 Beyond simply being a convenient dataset, these homes represent a common environment-low-income multi-unit housing-where PACs may be the only feasible strategy for reducing PM exposure and where occupant health may be disproportionately benefitted by their deployment. 26 Evaluating their performance in this context is particularly important, although the results of this study should be generalizable to other environments and particle filter systems.…”

Section: Measured Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of fixed and adaptive concentration thresholds for particle filter systems

2022

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Particle filtration can effectively reduce indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM) but may incur high energy use. This study evaluates fixed and adaptive concentration thresholds to automate the operation of filtration systems. Simulated environments were derived from week-long continuous PM measurements from Dylos DC1700 (N = 104) and Alphasense OPC-N2 (N = 100) particle counters deployed in apartments in Toronto. A fixed threshold of 4.0 μg•m −3 resulted in a mean air cleaner runtime of 6.9%-21.0% depending on clean air delivery rate (CADR) and particle sensor, while providing mean concentration reductions of 67%-71% compared to operating the air cleaner constantly (runtime = 100%). In most environments, runtime could be further reduced by raising the fixed threshold while resulting in only a modest decrease in absolute and normalized mean exposure reduction. Using an adaptive threshold derived from a k-means clustering approach generally provided substantial exposure reduction while preventing high runtimes. These results were generally insensitive to cleaning power and the monitor used to measure particle concentrations.Reducing the energy usage of particle filter systems will make them a more viable and sustainable means of improving occupant health.

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Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from non-tobacco sources in homes within high-income countries: a systematic review

Wei

Semple

2022

Air Qual Atmos Health

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The health impacts associated with exposure to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are well recognised. There is a substantial number of studies characterising PM2.5 concentrations outdoors, as well as in homes within low- and middle-income countries. In high-income countries (HICs), there is a sizeable literature on indoor PM2.5 relating to smoking, but the evidence on exposure to PM2.5 generated from non-tobacco sources in homes is sparse. This is especially relevant as people living in HICs spend the majority of their time at home, and in the northern hemisphere households often have low air exchange rates for energy efficiency. This review identified 49 studies that described indoor PM2.5 concentrations generated from a variety of common household sources in real-life home settings in HICs. These included wood/solid fuel burning appliances, cooking, candles, incense, cleaning and humidifiers. The reported concentrations varied widely, both between sources and within groups of the same source. The burning of solid fuels was found to generate the highest indoor PM2.5 concentrations. On occasion, other sources were also reported to be responsible for high PM2.5 concentrations; however, this was only in a few select examples. This review also highlights the many inconsistencies in the ways data are collected and reported. The variable methods of measurement and reporting make comparison and interpretation of data difficult. There is a need for standardisation of methods and agreed contextual data to make household PM2.5 data more useful in epidemiological studies and aid comparison of the impact of different interventions and policies.

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Particulate matter concentrations in social housing

Cited by 10 publications

References 90 publications

Quantitative filter forensics for semivolatile organic compounds in social housing apartments

Quantitative filter forensics for semivolatile organic compounds in social housing apartments

Evaluation of fixed and adaptive concentration thresholds for particle filter systems

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from non-tobacco sources in homes within high-income countries: a systematic review

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