Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes
Millions of people live in areas that are subject to frequent dust events; however gaps remain in our knowledge about the association between dust, air quality and corresponding particulate matter (PM) exposure levels inside buildings. This case study demonstrates how the PM<sub>2.5</sub>...
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doaj-bf0d348869ba425198d463b59b699fb02020-11-25T01:15:20ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012020-03-01175162510.3390/ijerph17051625ijerph17051625Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust EpisodesItzhak Katra0Helena Krasnov1Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelDepartment of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelMillions of people live in areas that are subject to frequent dust events; however gaps remain in our knowledge about the association between dust, air quality and corresponding particulate matter (PM) exposure levels inside buildings. This case study demonstrates how the PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> levels in an urban environment respond to strong natural dust episodes. Real-time measurements were recorded simultaneously in indoor and outdoor environments in households in the city of Beer-Sheva, Israel during several strong dust events. A typical strong event was used for a detailed analysis of PM<sub>10</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub>. Outdoor daily concentrations were above 1000 µg m<sup>−3</sup> for PM<sub>10</sub>, the maximum hourly value of which was 1320 µg m<sup>−3</sup>. The indoor PM<sub>10</sub> peaked at about 700 µg m<sup>−3</sup> and fluctuated in parallel with the outdoor level but with a time lag of about 15 min. Indoor air tended to remain for several hours after the dust event had subsided. Analyses of multiple events revealed that the dependence of indoor PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> on natural dust varies but is not directly linked to the level of atmospheric dust concentration. From a health perspective, the exposure risk posed by extreme indoor PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> levels generated by natural dust episodes should be considered.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/5/1625pmdust eventsindooroutdoor |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Itzhak Katra Helena Krasnov |
spellingShingle |
Itzhak Katra Helena Krasnov Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health pm dust events indoor outdoor |
author_facet |
Itzhak Katra Helena Krasnov |
author_sort |
Itzhak Katra |
title |
Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes |
title_short |
Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes |
title_full |
Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes |
title_fullStr |
Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes |
title_sort |
exposure assessment of indoor pm levels during extreme dust episodes |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
Millions of people live in areas that are subject to frequent dust events; however gaps remain in our knowledge about the association between dust, air quality and corresponding particulate matter (PM) exposure levels inside buildings. This case study demonstrates how the PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> levels in an urban environment respond to strong natural dust episodes. Real-time measurements were recorded simultaneously in indoor and outdoor environments in households in the city of Beer-Sheva, Israel during several strong dust events. A typical strong event was used for a detailed analysis of PM<sub>10</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub>. Outdoor daily concentrations were above 1000 µg m<sup>−3</sup> for PM<sub>10</sub>, the maximum hourly value of which was 1320 µg m<sup>−3</sup>. The indoor PM<sub>10</sub> peaked at about 700 µg m<sup>−3</sup> and fluctuated in parallel with the outdoor level but with a time lag of about 15 min. Indoor air tended to remain for several hours after the dust event had subsided. Analyses of multiple events revealed that the dependence of indoor PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> on natural dust varies but is not directly linked to the level of atmospheric dust concentration. From a health perspective, the exposure risk posed by extreme indoor PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> levels generated by natural dust episodes should be considered. |
topic |
pm dust events indoor outdoor |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/5/1625 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT itzhakkatra exposureassessmentofindoorpmlevelsduringextremedustepisodes AT helenakrasnov exposureassessmentofindoorpmlevelsduringextremedustepisodes |
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