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.

  • Article
  • Published:

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 21, pages 20–30 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) can occur while people are cooking, driving, smoking, operating small appliances such as hair dryers, or eating out in restaurants. These exposures can often be higher than outdoor concentrations. For 3 years, portable monitors were employed in homes, cars, and restaurants. More than 300 measurement periods in several homes were documented, along with 25 h of driving two cars, and 22 visits to restaurants. Cooking on gas or electric stoves and electric toaster ovens was a major source of UFP, with peak personal exposures often exceeding 100,000 particles/cm3 and estimated emission rates in the neighborhood of 1012 particles/min. Other common sources of high UFP exposures were cigarettes, a vented gas clothes dryer, an air popcorn popper, candles, an electric mixer, a toaster, a hair dryer, a curling iron, and a steam iron. Relatively low indoor UFP emissions were noted for a fireplace, several space heaters, and a laser printer. Driving resulted in moderate exposures averaging about 30,000 particles/cm3 in each of two cars driven on 17 trips on major highways on the East and West Coasts. Most of the restaurants visited maintained consistently high levels of 50,000–200,000 particles/cm3 for the entire length of the meal. The indoor/outdoor ratios of size-resolved UFP were much lower than for PM2.5 or PM10, suggesting that outdoor UFP have difficulty in penetrating a home. This in turn implies that outdoor concentrations of UFP have only a moderate effect on personal exposures if indoor sources are present. A time-weighted scenario suggests that for typical suburban nonsmoker lifestyles, indoor sources provide about 47% and outdoor sources about 36% of total daily UFP exposure and in-vehicle exposures add the remainder (17%). However, the effect of one smoker in the home results in an overwhelming increase in the importance of indoor sources (77% of the total).

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
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abt E., Suh H.H., Catalano P., and Koutrakis P. Relative contribution of outdoor and indoor particle sources to indoor concentrations. Environ Sci Tech 2000: 34: 3579–3587.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Afshari A., Matson U., and Ekberg L.E. Characterization of indoor sources of fine and ultrafine particles: a study conducted in a full-scale chamber. Indoor Air 2005: 15: 141–150.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • ATUS. American Time Use Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC. 2009: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm (accessed 4th July 2009).

  • Bräuner E.V., Forchhammer L., Møller P., Barregard L., Gunnarsen L., Afshari A., Wåhlin P., Glasius M., Dragsted L.O., Basu S., Raaschou-Nielsen O., and Loft S. Indoor particles affect vascular function in the aged: an air filtration–based intervention study. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2007a: 177: 419–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bräuner E.V., Forchhammer L., Møller P., Simonsen J., Glasius M., Wåhlin P., Raaschou-Nielsen O., and Loft S. Exposure to ultrafine particles from ambient air and oxidative stress–induced DNA damage. Environ Health Persp 2007b: 115: 1177–1182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dennekamp M., Howarth S., Dick C.A., Cherrie J.H.W., Donaldson K., and Seaton A. Ultrafine particles and nitrogen oxides generated by gas and electric cooking. Occup Environ Med 2001: 58: 511–516.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fruin S., Westerdahl D., Sax T., Sioutas C., and Fine P.M. Measurements and predictors of on-road ultrafine particle concentrations and associated pollutants in Los Angeles. Atmos Environ 2008: 42: 207–219.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hämeri K., Koponen I.K., Aalto P.P., and Kulmala M. The particle detection efficiency of the TSI-3007 condensation particle counter. J Aerosol Science 2002: 33: 1463–1469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He C., Morawska L., Hitchins J., and Gilbert D. Contribution of indoor sources to particle number and mass concentrations in residential houses. Atmos Environ 2004: 38: 3405–3415.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoek G., Kos G., Harrison R., de Hartog J., Meliefste K., ten Brink H., Katsouyanni K., Karakatsani A., Liangou M., Kotronarou A., and Hämeri K., et al. Indoor-outdoor relationships of particle number and mass in four European cities. Atmos Eviron 2008: 42: 156–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Howard-Reed C.H., Wallace L.A., and Ott W.R. The effect of opening windows on air change rates in two homes. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2002: 52: 147–159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klepeis N.E., Apte M.G., Gundel L.A., Sextro R.G., and Nazaroff W.W. Determining size-specific emission factors for environmental tobacco smoke particles. Aerosol Sci Technol 2003: 37: 780–790.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long C.M., Suh H.H., Catalano P., and Koutrakis P Using time- and size-resolved particulate data to quantify indoor penetration and deposition behavior. Environ Sci Technol 2001: 35: 2089–2099.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oberdörster G., Oberdörster E., and Oberdörster J. Nanotoxicology: an emerging discipline evolving from studies of ultrafine particles. Environ Health Persp 2005: 113: 823–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ott W., Klepeis N., and Switzer P. Air change rates of motor vehicles and in-vehicle concentrations from secondhand smoke. J Exposure Science Environ Epidemiol 2008: 18 (3): 312–325.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ott W., Wallace L., and Mage D. Predicting particulate (PM10) personal exposure distributions using a random component superposition statistical model. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2000: 50: 1390–1406.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon P.A., Hopke P.K., Froines J., and Scheffe R. Key scientific findings and policy and health-relevant insights from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Particulate Matter Supersites Program and related studies: an integration and synthesis of results. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2008: 58 (Suppl. 2008): S-3–S-92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stölzel M., Breitner S., Cyrys J., Pitz M., Wölke G., Kreyling W., Heinrich J., Wichmann H.-E., and Peters A. Daily mortality and particulate matter in different size classes in Erfurt, Germany. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2007: 17: 458–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A Real-time monitoring of particles, PAH, and CO in an occupied townhouse. Applied Occup Environ Hygiene 2000: 15 (1): 39–47.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A. Ultrafine particles from a vented gas clothes dryer. Atmos Environ 2005: 39: 5777–5786.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A. Indoor sources of ultrafine and accumulation mode particles: number concentrations and size distributions. Aerosol Sci Technol 2006: 40: 348–360.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A., Emmerich S.J., and Howard-Reed C. Emission rates of ultrafine and fine particles due to cooking with a gas stove. Environ Sci Technol 2004: 38: 2304–2311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace L.A., and Howard-Reed C. Continuous monitoring of ultrafine, fine, and coarse particles in a residence for 18 months in 1999–2000. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2002: 52: 828–844.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace LA, Wang F, Howard-Reed C, and Persily A. Contribution of gas and electric stoves to residential ultrafine particle concentrations between 2 and 64 nm: size distributions and emission and coagulation rates. Environ Sci Tech 2008: 42: 8641–8647.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weichenthal S., Dufresne A, Infante-Rivard C., and Joseph L. Determinants of ultrafine particle exposures in transportation environments: findings of an 8-month survey conducted in Montreal, Canada. J Exposure Science Environ Epidemiol 2008: 18: 551–563.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westerdahl D., Fruin S., Sax T., Fine P.M., and Sioutas C. Mobile platform measurements of ultrafine particles and associated pollutant concentrations on freeways and residential streets in Los Angeles. Atmos Environ 2005: 39: 3597–3610.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wichmann H.E., Spix C., Tuch T., Wolke G., Peters A., Heinrich J., Kreyling W.G., and Heyder J. Daily mortality and fine and ultrafine particles in erfurt, Germany Part I: role of particle number and particle mass. Health Effects Inst 2000: 98: 5–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu Z., Hu M., Lin P., Liu S., Wehner B., and Wiedensohler A. Particle number size distribution in the urban atmosphere. Atmos Environ 2008: 42: 7967–7980.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Y., Personal communication on October 14 at the ISEA-ISEE 2008 Joint Annual Meeting in Pasadena, CA. 2008.

  • Zhu Y., Fung D.C, Kennedy N., Hinds W.C., and Eiguran-Fernandez A. Measurements of ultrafine particles and other vehicular pollutants inside a mobile exposure system on Los Angeles freeways. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2008: 58 (3): 424–434.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Y., Hinds W.C., Kim S., and Sioutas C. Concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles near a major highway. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2002: 52 (9): 1032–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

One of us (LW) acknowledges Andrew Persily and members of his group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for supplying the Model 3007 and the test house on the NIST campus where the indoor–outdoor measurements were made. WO gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Jane McAteer in monitoring several California restaurants, and the Flight Attendants’ Medical Research Institute for support. We also acknowledge TSI for loaning a second Model 3007 to determine the precision of the instrument.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consulting Scientist, Reston, Virginia, USA

    Lance Wallace

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

    Wayne Ott

Authors
  1. Lance Wallace
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wayne Ott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lance Wallace.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wallace, L., Ott, W. Personal exposure to ultrafine particles. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21, 20–30 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.59

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.59

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links