Exposure to Aerosols Emitted from Common Heating Combustion Sources Indoors—The Jordanian Case as an Example for Eastern Mediterranean Conditions

Indoor Exposure and Regional Inhaled Deposited Dose Rate during Smoking and Incense Stick Burning-The Jordanian Case as an Example for Eastern Mediterranean Conditions

Tobacco smoking and incense burning are commonly used in Jordanian microenvironments. While smoking in Jordan is prohibited inside closed spaces, incense burning remains uncontrolled. In this study, particle size distributions (diameter 0.01-25 µm) were measured and inhaled deposited dose rates were calculated during typical smoking and incense stick-burning scenarios inside a closed room, and the exposure was summarized in terms of number and mass concentrations of submicron (PN_Sub) and fine particles (PM_2.5). During cigarette smoking and incense stick-burning scenarios, the particle number concentrations exceeded 3 × 10⁵ cm^-3. They exceeded 5 × 10⁵ cm^-3 during shisha smoking. The emission rates were 1.9 × 10¹⁰, 6.8 × 10¹⁰, and 1.7 × 10¹⁰ particles/s, respectively, for incense, cigarettes, and shisha. That corresponded to about 7, 80, and 120 µg/s, respectively. Males received higher dose rates than females, with about 75% and 55% in the pulmonary/alveolar during walking and standing, respectively. The total dose rates were in the order of 10¹²-10¹³ #/h (10³-10⁴ µg/h), respectively, for PN_Sub and PM_2.5. The above reported concentrations, emissions rates, and dose rates are considered seriously high, recalling the fact that aerosols emitted during such scenarios consist of a vast range of toxicant compounds.