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  • Original Article
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Estimating particle exposure in the Mexico City metropolitan area

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 12, pages 145–156 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Study question: We examined whether methods for measuring exposure to airborne particles less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) in the Mexico City metropolitan area give different estimates of PM10 levels, and the nature of these differences, and developed a model for estimating missing PM10 data for one measurement method. Methods: Government PM10 measurements using two different technologies at five sites (the Sierra–Anderson PM10 High-Volume Air Sampler System, Hi-Vol) (every sixth day) and the Rupprecht and Patashnik Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) monitor (daily), as well as Harvard Impactor (HI) data collected for research purposes from one monitoring station were matched by day and monitoring site, then compared visually and with basic descriptive statistics. We fit linear regression models with airport visual range measurements, meteorological data, and information on other air pollutants to predict the Hi-Vol measured PM10 levels for those days when direct measurements were not available. Results: We found relatively low correlations (r ranging from 0.46 to 0.63) between PM10 measured with the TEOM and Hi-Vol methods, and highly variable differences (0–70 μg/m3) between the means of these measurements, depending on monitoring site. The HI measurements had a relatively high correlation with the Hi-Vol measurements (r=0.90). The models developed for the missing Hi-Vol measurements provided a series of estimated values similar to the actual Hi-Vol measurements, although the estimated series did not have high values in the range observed in the measured data. Conclusions: The differences we observed in the PM10 measurements across methods in Mexico City may be important when studying health effects associated with particle exposure, evaluating method performance under conditions and operating protocols similar to those in Mexico City, and determining compliance with air quality standards. The estimated series of PM10 measures may be a useful index of exposure for use in studies of the effects of air pollution on health.

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Abbreviations

μg/m3:

micrograms per cubic meter

B ext :

extinction coefficient (total amount of light attenuated through absorption and scattering by particles and gases)

GDF:

Gobierno del Distrito Federal (Government of the Federal District)

HI:

Harvard Impactor low-flow size-fractionated particle sampler

Hi-Vol:

Graseby–Anderson GMW Model 1200 High-Volume Air Sampler System

IMP:

Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo (Mexican Petroleum Institute)

NO2:

nitrogen dioxide

O3:

ozone

PM10:

airborne particles less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter

PM2.5:

airborne particles less than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter

ppb:

parts per billion

TEOM:

Rupprecht and Patashnik Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance

TSP:

total suspended particle

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Acknowledgements

We thank Enrique Camarillo Cruz, Margarita Castillejos Salazar, Jorge Martínez Castillejos, Roberto Muñoz Cruz, and Victor Borja Aburto for data access; the staff of the Centro Nacional de Salud Ambiental, Jean Keller, and Lawrence Park for help with programming and data management; and Evan Hammer and Pablo Cicero Fernández for assistance with the map. We thank Irva Hertz Picciotto, Carl Shy, and Steve Wing for comments on the manuscript. Marie O'Neill received financial support for this research from the Mellon Foundation, the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a Fulbright-Garcia Robles grant, and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Fellowship. Institutional support in Mexico was provided by the Centro Nacional de Salud Ambiental (Victor Borja Aburto, sponsor) and the Colegio de México (José Luis Lezama, sponsor). Part of this work was completed while Marie O'Neill was employed at the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México.

This study was supported, in part, by Cooperative Agreements CR816071 and CR821762 from the US EPA National Health and Ecological Effects Research Laboratory and by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco (UAM-X). Although the research described in this article was funded by the US EPA and UAM-X, it has not been subjected to Agency review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency; no official endorsement should be inferred. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    MARIE S O'NEILL & DANA LOOMIS

  2. Secretaría de Salud, Dirección de Salud Ambiental, México, Distrito Federal, México

    VICTOR TORRES MEZA

  3. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco, México, Distrito Federal, México

    ARMANDO RETAMA

  4. Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    DIANE GOLD

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  1. MARIE S O'NEILL
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Correspondence to MARIE S O'NEILL.

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O'NEILL, M., LOOMIS, D., TORRES MEZA, V. et al. Estimating particle exposure in the Mexico City metropolitan area. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 12, 145–156 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500212

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