TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of indoor activities and outdoor penetration on PM2.5 and associated organic/elemental carbon at residential homes in four Chinese cities during winter
AU - Zhang, Zhuozhi
AU - Gao, Yuan
AU - Yuan, Qi
AU - Tan, Yan
AU - Li, Haiwei
AU - Cui, Long
AU - Huang, Yu
AU - Cheng, Yan
AU - Xiu, Guangli
AU - Lai, Senchao
AU - Chow, Judith C.
AU - Watson, John G.
AU - Lee, Shun Cheng
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Government (Project No. PolyU 152090/15E ), the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Government (Project No. T24/504/17 ), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China ( 2016YFA0203000 ). The authors would also like to thank our previous research group member, Mr. LAI Nguyen Huy, the homeowners, and research group members from South China University of Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, and Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences for cooperation on indoor sampling.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/10/15
Y1 - 2020/10/15
N2 - There is increasing public attention on exposure to PM2.5 and its related health impacts. It is essential to study the pollution levels, sources, and health implications of indoor PM2.5, especially for residential homes, as people tend to spend most of their time indoors. The indoor PM2.5 mass and organic/elemental carbon (OC/EC) during winter and early spring period of 2016–2017 at 68 residential households in four large Chinese cities (i.e. Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi'an) were studied. Average indoor PM2.5 varied by two-fold, lowest in Hong Kong (34.0 ± 14.6 μg m−3) and highest in Xi'an (78.7 ± 49.3 μg m−3), with comparable levels for Guangzhou (47.2 ± 5.4 μg m−3) and Shanghai (50.3 ± 17.9 μg m−3). Lowest air exchange rate (AER, 0.8 ± 0.8 h−1) and PM2.5 indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio (0.72 ± 0.23) were found for Xi'an households, indicating the limited influence from indoor sources, while importance of indoor PM2.5 sources is signified with the highest PM2.5 I/O ratio (1.32 ± 0.43) identified for Shanghai households. For households in four cities, OC and EC accounted for 29.5%–38.5% and 7.5%–8.9% of the indoor PM2.5 mass, indicating the significance of carbonaceous aerosols. Larger differences between indoor and outdoor OC (2.6–8.4%) than EC (−2.2–1.5%) indicate the presence of indoor OC sources. Decreasing trends of PM2.5 I/O ratio and indoor OC proportion were found as the worsening ambient air quality. On average, 11.8 μg m−3 (23.1%) and 3.02 μg m−3 (18.7%) higher indoor PM2.5 and OC concentrations were identified for households with other indoor combustions (e.g., tobacco smoking, incense burning) compared to those with only cooking activities. For Hong Kong and Shanghai households, increments of 13.2 μg m−3 (54.1%) of PM2.5 and 4.1 μg m−3 (45.4%) of OC were found at households with cooking activities as compared to households with no specific indoor combustion.
AB - There is increasing public attention on exposure to PM2.5 and its related health impacts. It is essential to study the pollution levels, sources, and health implications of indoor PM2.5, especially for residential homes, as people tend to spend most of their time indoors. The indoor PM2.5 mass and organic/elemental carbon (OC/EC) during winter and early spring period of 2016–2017 at 68 residential households in four large Chinese cities (i.e. Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi'an) were studied. Average indoor PM2.5 varied by two-fold, lowest in Hong Kong (34.0 ± 14.6 μg m−3) and highest in Xi'an (78.7 ± 49.3 μg m−3), with comparable levels for Guangzhou (47.2 ± 5.4 μg m−3) and Shanghai (50.3 ± 17.9 μg m−3). Lowest air exchange rate (AER, 0.8 ± 0.8 h−1) and PM2.5 indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio (0.72 ± 0.23) were found for Xi'an households, indicating the limited influence from indoor sources, while importance of indoor PM2.5 sources is signified with the highest PM2.5 I/O ratio (1.32 ± 0.43) identified for Shanghai households. For households in four cities, OC and EC accounted for 29.5%–38.5% and 7.5%–8.9% of the indoor PM2.5 mass, indicating the significance of carbonaceous aerosols. Larger differences between indoor and outdoor OC (2.6–8.4%) than EC (−2.2–1.5%) indicate the presence of indoor OC sources. Decreasing trends of PM2.5 I/O ratio and indoor OC proportion were found as the worsening ambient air quality. On average, 11.8 μg m−3 (23.1%) and 3.02 μg m−3 (18.7%) higher indoor PM2.5 and OC concentrations were identified for households with other indoor combustions (e.g., tobacco smoking, incense burning) compared to those with only cooking activities. For Hong Kong and Shanghai households, increments of 13.2 μg m−3 (54.1%) of PM2.5 and 4.1 μg m−3 (45.4%) of OC were found at households with cooking activities as compared to households with no specific indoor combustion.
KW - Ambient penetration
KW - Carbonaceous aerosols
KW - Indoor combustion
KW - PM (fine suspended particulate)
KW - Residence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086309727&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139684
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139684
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32554114
AN - SCOPUS:85086309727
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 739
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 139684
ER -
