Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Article
  • Published:

Predictors of concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and particle constituents inside of lower socioeconomic status urban homes

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 17, pages 433–444 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Air pollution exposure patterns may contribute to known spatial patterning of asthma morbidity within urban areas. While studies have evaluated the relationship between traffic and outdoor concentrations, few have considered indoor exposure patterns within low socioeconomic status (SES) urban communities. In this study, part of a prospective birth cohort study assessing asthma etiology in urban Boston, we collected indoor and outdoor 3–4 day samples of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 43 residences across multiple seasons from 2003 to 2005. Homes were chosen to represent low SES households, including both cohort and non-cohort residences in similar neighborhoods, and consisted almost entirely of multiunit residences. Reflectance analysis and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy were performed on the particle filters to determine elemental carbon (EC) and trace element concentrations, respectively. Additionally, information on home characteristics (e.g. type, age, stove fuel) and occupant behaviors (e.g. smoking, cooking, cleaning) were collected via a standardized questionnaire. The contributions of outdoor and indoor sources to indoor concentrations were quantified with regression analyses using mass balance principles. For NO2 and most particle constituents (except outdoor-dominated constituents like sulfur and vanadium), the addition of selected indoor source terms improved the model's predictive power. Cooking time, gas stove usage, occupant density, and humidifiers were identified as important contributors to indoor levels of various pollutants. A comparison between cohort and non-cohort participants provided another means to determine the influence of occupant activity patterns on indoor–outdoor ratios. Although the groups had similar housing characteristics and were located in similar neighborhoods, cohort members had significantly higher indoor concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2, associated with indoor activities. We conclude that the effect of indoor sources may be more pronounced in high-density multiunit dwellings, and that future epidemiological studies in these populations should explicitly consider these sources in assigning exposures.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abt E., Suh H.H., Allen G., and Koutrakis P. Characterization of indoor particle sources: a study conducted in the metropolitan Boston area. Environ Health Perspect 2000: 108 (1): 35–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • American Lung Association. Urban air pollution and health inequities: a workshop report. Environ Health Perspect 2001: 109 (Suppl 3): 357–374.

  • Brauer M., Hoek G., van Vliet P., Meliefste K., Fischer P., Gehring U., Heinrich J., Cyrys J., Bellander T., Lewne M., and Brunekreef B. Estimating long-term average particulate air pollution concentrations: application of traffic indicators and geographic information systems. Epidemiology 2003: 14 (2): 228–239.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breysse P.N., Buckley T.J., Williams D.A., Beck C.M., Jo S.-J., Merriman B., Kanchanaraksa S., Swartz L.J., Callahan K.A., and Butz A.M. Indoor exposures to air pollutants and allergens in the homes of asthmatic children in inner-city Baltimore. Environ Res 2005: 98 (2): 167–176.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs D.J., De Hoogh C., Gulliver J., Wills J., Elliott P., Kingham S., and Smallbone K. A regression-based method for mapping traffic-related air pollution: application and testing in four contrasting urban environments. Sci Total Environ 2000: 253 (1–3): 151–167.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brunekreef B., Janssen N.A.H., De Hartog J.J., Oldenwening M., Meliefste K., Hoek G., Lanki T., Timonen K.L., Vallius M., Pekkanen J., and Van Grieken R. Personal, Indoor, and Outdoor Exposures to PM2.5 and its Components for Groups of Cardiovascular Patients in Amsterdam and Helsinki 2005, Boston, MA, Health Effects Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of unvented residential heating appliances—United States, 1988–1994. Morbidity Mortality Wkly Rep 1997: 46 (51): 1221–1224.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette smoking among adults – United States, 2002. Morbidity Mortality Wkly Rep 2004: 53 (20): 427–431.

  • Chow J., and Watson J. Guidelines on Speciated Particulate Monitoring, Third Draft Report 1998, Research Triangle Park, NC, US. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Algar O., Pichini S., Basagana X., Puig C., Vall O., Torrent M., Harris J., Sunyer J., and Cullinan P. Concentrations and determinants of NO2 in homes of Ashford, UK and Barcelona and Menorca, Spain. Indoor Air 2004: 14 (4): 298–304.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Highsmith V.R., Hardy R.J., Costa D.L., and Germani M.S. Physical and chemical characterization of indoor aerosols resulting from the use of tap water in portable home humidifiers. Environ Sci Technol 1992: 26 (4): 673–680.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kinney P.L., Aggarwal M., Northridge M.E., Janssen N.A.H., and Shepard P. Airborne concentrations of PM2.5 and diesel exhaust particles on Harlem sidewalks: a community-based pilot study. Environ Health Perspect 2000: 108 (3): 213–218.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Koistinen K.J., Hanninen O., Rotko T., Edwards R.D., Moschandreas D., and Jantunen M.J. Behavioral and environmental determinants of personal exposures to PM2.5 in EXPOLIS – Helsinki, Finland. Atmos Environ 2001: 35 (14): 2473–2481.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kousa A., Monn C., Rotko T., Alm S., Oglesby L., and Jantunen M.J. Personal exposures to NO2 in the EXPOLIS-study: relation to residential indoor, outdoor, and workplace concentrations in Basel, Helsinki, and Prague. Atmos Environ 2001: 35 (20): 3405–3412.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koutrakis P., and Briggs S.L.K. Source apportionment of indoor aerosols in Suffolk and Onondage Counties, New York. Environ Sci Technol 1992: 26 (3): 521–527.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee K., Levy J.I., Yanagisawa Y., and Spengler J.D. The Boston residential nitrogen dioxide characterization study: classification of and prediction of on indoor NO2 exposure. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 1998: 48 (8): 739–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee K., Yang W., and Bofinger N.D. Impact of micorenvironmental nitrogen dioxide concentrations on personal exposures in Australia. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2000: 50 (10): 1739–1744.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levy J.I., Lee K., Spengler J.D., and Yanagisawa Y. Impact of residential nitrogen dioxide exposure on personal exposure: an international study. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 1998: 48 (6): 553–560.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Linaker C.H., Chauhan A.J., Inskip H., Frew A., Sillence A., Coggon D., and Holgate S.T. Distribution and determinants of personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide in school children. Occup Environ Med 1996: 53 (3): 200–203.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Long C.M., and Sarnat J.A. Indoor–outdoor relationships and infiltration behavior of elemental components of outdoor PM2.5 for Boston-area homes. Aerosol Sci Technol 2004: 38 (S2): 91–104.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long C.M., Suh H.H., and Koutrakis P. Characterization of indoor particle sources using continuous mass and size monitors. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2000: 50 (7): 1236–1250.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marple V.A., Rubow K.L., Turner W., and Spengler J.D. Low flow rate sharp cut impactors for indoor air sampling: design and calibration. J Air Pollut Control Assoc 1987: 37 (11): 1303–1307.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meng Q.Y., Turpin B.J., Polidori A., Lee J.H., Weisel C.P., Morandi M., Colome S., Stock T., Winer A., and Zhang J. PM2.5 of ambient origin: estimates and exposure errors relevant to PM epidemiology. Environ Sci Technol 2005: 39 (14): 5105–5112.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill M.S., Jerrett M., Kawachi I., Levy J.I., Cohen A.J., Gouveia N., Wilkinson P., Fletcher T., Cifuentes L., Schwartz J., and Conditions W.o.A.P.a.S. Health, wealth, and air pollution: advancing theory and methods. Environ Health Perspect 2003: 111 (16): 1861–1870.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ozkaynak H., Xue J., Spengler J., Wallace L., Pellizzari E., and Jenkins P. Personal exposure to airborne particles and metals: results from the Particles Team Study in Riverside, California. J Exp Anal EnviornEpidemiol 1996: 6 (1): 57–78.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ozkaynak H., Xue J., Weker R., Butler D., Koutrakis P., and Spengler J. The Particle Team (PTEAM) Study: Analysis of the Data. Final Report. Vol. III 1994, Research Triangle Park, NC, US EPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotko T., Kousa A., Alm S., and Jantunen M. Exposures to nitrogen dioxide in EXPOLIS – Helsinki: microenvironment, behavioral, and sociodemographic factors. J Exp Anal Environ Epidemiol 2001: 11 (3): 216–223.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarnat J.A., Long C.M., Koutrakis P., Coull B.A., Schwartz J., and Suh H.H. Using sulfur as a tracer of outdoor fine particulate matter. Environ Sci Technol 2002: 36 (24): 5305–5314.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab M., McDermott A., Spengler J.D., Samet J.M., and Lambert W.E. Seasonal and yearly patterns of indoor nitrogen dioxide levels: data from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Indoor Air 1994: 4 (1): 8–22.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thatcher T.L., and Layton D.W. Deposition, resuspension, and penetration of particles within a residence. Atmos Environ 1995: 29 (13): 1487–1497.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The American Lung Association. Urban air pollution and health inequities: a workshop report. Environ Health Perspect 2001: 109 (Suppl 3): 357–374.

  • Wallace L.A. Indoor particles: a review. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 1996: 46 (2): 98–126.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A., Mitchell H., O’Connor G.T., Neas L., Lippmann M., Kattan M., Koenig J., Stout J.W., Vaughn B.J., Wallace D., Walter M., Adams K., and Liu L.S. Particle concentrations in inner-city homes, of children with asthma: the effect of smoking, cooking, and outdoor pollution. Environ Health Perspect 2003: 111 (9): 1265–1272.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Watson J., Chow J., and Frazier C. X-ray fluorescence analysis of ambient air samples. In: Landberger S. and Creatchman M. (Eds.). Elemental Analysis of Airborne Particles. Gordon and Breach Publishers, NJ, 1999 pp. 67–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams R., Suggs J., Rea A., Leovic K., Vette A., Croghan C., Sheldon L., Rodes C., Thornburg J., Ejire A., Herbst M., and Sanders Jr W. The Research Triangle Park particulate matter panel study: PM mass concentration relationships. Atmos Environ 2003: 37 (38): 5349–5363.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagisawa Y., and Nishimura H. A badge-type personal sampler for measurement of personal exposure to NO2 and NO in ambient air. Environ Int 1982: 8 (1–6): 235–242.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zipprich J.L., Harris S.A., Fox C., and Borzelleca J.F. An analysis of factors that influence personal exposure to nitrogen dioxides in residents of Richmond, Virginia. J Exp Anal Environ Epidemiol 2002: 12 (4): 273–285.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by HEI 4727-RFA04-5/05-1, NIH U01 HL072494, NIH R03 ES013988, PHS 5-T42-CCT1229661-02, and PHS 1-T42-OH008416-01. We gratefully acknowledge the hard work of all the technicians associated with the ACCESS project and the hospitality of the ACCESS and other study participants. In addition, we thank Dr. Rosalind Wright of the Channing Laboratory, Christopher Paciorek from the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health, and Helen Suh from the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health for providing guidance; Prashant Dilwali, Robin Dodson, Shakira Franco, Lu-wei Lee, Rebecca Schildkret, and Leonard Zwack for their sampling assistance; and Monique Perron for both her sampling and laboratory assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Lisa K Baxter, Jane E Clougherty, Francine Laden & Jonathan I Levy

  2. Department of Medicine, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Havard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Francine Laden

Authors
  1. Lisa K Baxter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jane E Clougherty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Francine Laden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jonathan I Levy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa K Baxter.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Baxter, L., Clougherty, J., Laden, F. et al. Predictors of concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and particle constituents inside of lower socioeconomic status urban homes. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 17, 433–444 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500532

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500532

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links