Effects of future temperature change on PM2.5 infiltration in the Greater Boston area. (February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Wan-Chen; Shen, Lu; Catalano, Paul J.; Mickley, Loretta J.; Koutrakis, Petros
• Is Part Of: Atmospheric environment. Volume 150(2017)
• Page Start: 98
• Page End: 105
• Publication Date: 2017-02
• Subjects: Climate change -- Indoor-outdoor sulfur ratio -- Particle infiltration -- Temperature; Air -- Pollution -- Periodicals; Air -- Pollution -- Meteorological aspects -- Periodicals; 551.51
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.11.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1352-2310

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Global temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events are projected to increase and affect indoor exposure to outdoor particulate matter (PM); however, no studies have quantitatively examined the effect of climate change on particle infiltration and indoor PM exposure. Obective: To quantify the relationship between future changes in ambient temperature and fine particle (PM2.5 ) infiltration in the Greater Boston area. Methods: We assembled a large database of outdoor and indoor PM2.5 data from 340 homes, and used the indoor-outdoor sulfur ratio ( S r ) as a surrogate for PM2.5 infiltration. We employed linear mixed-effects models to examine the relationship between S r and ambient temperature for all homes in the database and a subgroup of naturally ventilated homes. We used projected temperature data from 1981 to 2000 and 2046–2065 to predict future changes in S r . Results: The summer-winter difference in S r was calculated to be 30% and 54% for all homes and in the naturally ventilated subgroup, respectively. The largest future difference in Sr (21%) was linked to differences in prevalence of air conditioning. Furthermore, S r was predicted to increase by 7% for naturally ventilated homes and 2% for all homes in summer, corresponding to an average increase of 2–3 °C in future temperature. Conclusions: We found that increases in future temperature due to climate change will be associated with increased PM2.5 infiltration, particularly in summer. The predicted temperature-related changes in S r can be used to characterize future health risk due to elevated indoor PM2.5 exposure through increased particle infiltration.