Predicting Particulate (PM10) Personal Exposure Distributions Using a Random Component Superposition Statistical Model |
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| Authors: | Wayne Ott Lance Wallace David Mage |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Statistics , Stanford University , Stanford , California , USA;2. Office of Research and Development , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , Reston , Virginia , USA;3. Institute for Survey Research, Temple University , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT This paper presents a new statistical model designed to extend our understanding from prior personal exposure field measurements of urban populations to other cities where ambient monitoring data, but no personal exposure measurements, exist. The model partitions personal exposure into two distinct components: ambient concentration and nonambient concentration. It is assumed the ambient and nonambient concentration components are uncorrelated and add together; therefore, the model is called a random component superposition (RCS) model. The 24-hr ambient outdoor concentration is multiplied by a dimensionless “attenuation factor” between 0 and 1 to account for deposition of particles as the ambient air infiltrates indoors. The RCS model is applied to field PM10 measurement data from three large-scale personal exposure field studies: THEES (Total Human Environmental Exposure Study) in Phillipsburg, NJ; PTEAM (Particle Total Exposure Assessment Methodology) in Riverside, CA; and the Ethyl Corporation study in Toronto, Canada. Because indoor sources and activities (smoking, cooking, cleaning, the personal cloud, etc.) may be similar in similar populations, it was hypothesized that the statistical distribution of nonambient personal exposure is invariant across cities. |
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