Ozone decay rates in residences

In urban and suburban settings, indoor ozone exposures can represent a significant fraction of an individual's total exposure. The decay rate, one of the factors determining indoor ozone concentrations, is inadequately understood in residences. Decay rates were calculated by introducing outdoor air containing 80-160 parts per billion ozone into 43 residences and monitoring the reduction in indoor concentration as a function of time. The mean decay rate measured in the living rooms of 43 Southern California homes was 2.80 +/- 1.30 hr-1, with an average ozone deposition velocity of 0.049 +/- 0.017 cm/sec. The experimental protocol was evaluated for precision by repeating measurements in one residence on five different days, collecting 44 same-day replicate measurements, and by simultaneous measurements at two locations in six homes. Measured decay rates were significantly correlated with house type and the number of bedrooms. The observed decay rates were higher in multiple-family homes and homes with fewer than three bedrooms. Homes with higher surface-area-to-volume ratios had higher decay rates. The ratio of indoor-to-outdoor ozone concentrations in homes not using air conditioning and open windows was 68 +/- 18%, while the ratio of indoor-to-outdoor ozone was less than 10% for the homes with air conditioning in use.

Pulmonary toxicity in hamsters of smoke particles from Kuwaiti oil fires

The Kuwaiti oil wells set on fire by retreating Iraqi troops at the end of the Persian Gulf War released complex particles, inorganic and organic gases, and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, damaging the environment where many people live and work. In this study, we assessed the health effects of particles from the Kuwaiti oil fires by instilling hamsters intratracheally with particles (<3.5 microM in size) collected in Ahmadi, a residential area in Kuwait located downwind of hundreds of oil fires. Twenty-four hours after instillation, we performed bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to assess various indicators of pulmonary inflammation, including neutrophil and macrophage numbers; albumin, an index of air-blood barrier permeability; and activities of three enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; an indicator of cell injury), myeloperoxidase (MPO; which indicates activation of neutrophils), and ss-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GLN; which is indicative of damage to macrophages or neutrophils). We compared the response of hamsters instilled with particles from Ahmadi to animals instilled with urban particles collected in St. Louis, Missouri. We also compared the Ahmadi particles against a highly fibrogenic positive control ([alpha]-quartz) and a relatively nontoxic negative control (iron oxide). When compared to hamsters instilled with particles from St. Louis, the animals treated with the Ahmadi particles had between 1.4- and 2.2-fold more neutrophils in their BAL fluids. The Ahmadi hamsters had more macrophages and lower MPO and LDH activities, but comparable albumin levels and GLN activities. Thus, the acute toxicity of the Ahmadi particles was roughly similar to that of urban particles collected in the United States, when identical masses were compared. However, the relatively higher concentrations of particles measured in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the oil fires (at times more than 16 times higher than the EPA standard) is of particular concern. In addition, since the long-term effects of exposure to these particles remains unknown, further studies are needed to fully assess the health effects of the Kuwaiti oil fires.

Measurement of air exchange rate of stationary vehicles and estimation of in-vehicle exposure

The air exchange rates or air changes per hour (ACH) were measured under 4 conditions in 3 stationary automobiles. The ACH ranged between 1.0 and 3.0 h-1 with windows closed and no mechanical ventilation, between 1.8 and 3.7 h-1 for windows closed with fan set on recirculation, between 13.3 and 26.1 h-1 for window open with no mechanical ventilation, and between 36.2 and 47.5 h-1 for window closed with the fan set on fresh air. ACHs for windows closed with no ventilation were higher for the older automobile than for the newer automobiles. With the windows closed and fan turned off, ACH was not influenced by wind speed (p > 0.05). When the window was open, ACH appeared to be greatly affected by wind speed (R2 = 0.86). These measurements are relevant to understanding exposures inside automobiles to sources such as dry-cleaned clothes, cigarettes and airbags. Therefore, to understand the in-vehicle exposure to these internal sources, perchloroethylene (PCE) emitted from dry-cleaned clothes and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) inside a vehicle were modeled for simulated driving cycles. Airbag deployment was also modeled for estimating exposure level to alkaline particulate and carbon monoxide (CO). Average exposure to PCE inside a vehicle for 30 minutes period was high (approximately 780 micrograms/m3); however, this is only 6% of the two-week exposure that is influenced by the storage of dry cleaned clothing at home. On the other hand, the exposure levels of respirable suspended particulate (RSP) and formaldehyde due to ETS could reach 2.1 mg/m3 and 0.11 ppm, respectively, when a person smokes inside a driving car even with the window open. In modeling the in-vehicle concentrations following airbag deployment, the average CO level over 20 minutes would not appear to present problem (less than 28 ppm). The peak concentration of respirable particulate would have exceeded 140 mg/m3. Since most of the particle mass is composed of alkaline material, these high levels might be expected to cause harmful effects on susceptible people, such as asthmatics. In all modeled cases, ACH would significantly affect build-up and dilution of pollutants originating from internal sources. Frequent stopping in congested urban traffic can greatly increase short-term exposures.