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Indoor and outdoor particulate matter and endotoxin concentrations in an intensely agricultural county

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 299–305 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to characterize rural populations’ indoor and outdoor exposure to particulate matter (PM)10, PM2.5, and endotoxin and identify factors that influence these concentrations. Samples were collected at 197 rural households over five continuous days between 2007 and 2011. Geometric mean (GM) indoor PM10 (21.2 μg/m3) and PM2.5 (12.2 μg/m3) concentrations tended to be larger than outdoor PM10 (19.6 μg/m3) and PM2.5 (8.2 μg/m3) concentrations (PM10 P=0.086; PM2.5 P<0.001). Conversely, GM outdoor endotoxin concentrations (1.93 EU/m−3) were significantly larger than indoor (0.32 EU/m3; P<0.001). Compared with measurements from previous urban studies, indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in the study area tended to be smaller, whereas ambient endotoxin concentrations measured outside rural households were 3–10 times larger. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, seasonality did not have a significant effect on mean ambient PM10 concentrations; however, endotoxin concentrations in the autumn were almost seven times larger than winter. Excluding home cleanliness, the majority of agricultural and housing characteristics evaluated were found to be poorly associated with indoor and outdoor particulate and endotoxin concentrations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study and the residents of Keokuk County, Iowa. We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Kimberly Hoppe for performing the endotoxin analyses. This work was supported by the grants from The Heartland Center, an Education and Research Center, Training Grant No. T42OH008491 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health No. U50 OH007548 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

    Brian T Pavilonis, T Renee Anthony, Patrick T O’Shaughnessy, Michael J Humann, James A Merchant, Genna Moore & Peter S Thorne

  2. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/UMDNJ, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

    Clifford P Weisel

  3. Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Wayne T Sanderson

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  1. Brian T Pavilonis
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Pavilonis, B., Anthony, T., O’Shaughnessy, P. et al. Indoor and outdoor particulate matter and endotoxin concentrations in an intensely agricultural county. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 299–305 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.123

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