Characterization of Particulate Matter and CoPollutants Exposures for Compromised and Healthy Elderly Adults in Seattle, WA. L-J.S. Liu, R. Allen, D. Kalman, J. Kaufman, and J. Koenig, University of Washington
This paper presents results from a 2-year comprehensive exposure assessment study that examined the PM exposures and health effects in individuals with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular (CV) diseases. Forty-six COPD, 21 CV, and 42 healthy subjects living in private and group homes participated in the monitoring sessions between fall 1999 and Spring 2001. Personal, indoor, and outdoor PM10, PM2.5, CO, NO2, SO2 were monitored for 10 consecutive days for each subject. Harvard impactors (HI) and Nephelometers were used for PM2.5, PM10, and PM1 measurements at indoor, outdoor, and central sites. Harvard personal environmental monitors (HPEM) and personal DataRAMs were used for personal PM2.5 and PM10 monitoring. No significant differences in PM and co-pollutants exposures were observed between COPD and healthy subjects. Longitudinal correlation for personal exposures to PM2.5 and alveolar CO concentrations ranged between 0 and 0.78 (median=0.11). Cross-sectionally, central site PM2.5 and PM10 were weakly but significantly related to personal PM2.5 exposures (r=0.17-0.29) in both elderly COPD and healthy sub-populations. The longitudinal correlation coefficients for personal PM2.5 exposures and central site measurements calculated for each subject ranged between 0 and 0.79. The average daily PM2.5 outside the individual home sites was significantly correlated with PM2.5 measured at the central site (R2 = 0.92, slope = 1.00). Using the random component superposition model, we estimated that 40% of the personal PM2.5 exposures could be contributed to ambient sources, while 60% was from non-ambient sources. Exposure models are constructed to determine factors affecting the strengths of THE relationships between personal exposures and central site measurements.
This study was sponsored in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (CR #827177-01-1). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. EPA.
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