Outdoor Ozone and Building-Related Symptoms in the BASE Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apte MG ; Buchanan IS ; Mendell MJ
• Description:
  Reactions between ozone and indoor contaminants may influence human health and indoor air quality. The U.S. EPA Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study data were analyzed for associations between ambient ozone concentrations and building-related symptom (BRS) prevalence. Multiple logistic regression (MLR) models, adjusted for personal, workplace, and environmental variables, revealed positive relationships (P < 0.05) between ambient ozone concentrations and upper respiratory (UR), dry eyes, neurological and headache BRS (odds ratios ranged from 1.03 to 1.04 per 10 mug/m(3) increase in ambient ozone concentrations). Other BRS had marginally significant relationships with ambient ozone (P < 0.10). A linear dose-response in UR symptoms was observed with increasing ambient ozone (P = 0.03); most other symptoms showed similar but not statistically significant trends. Ambient ozone correlated with indoor concentrations of some aldehydes, a pattern suggesting the occurrence of indoor ozone chemistry. Coupled with the MLR ambient ozone-BRS analysis, this correlation is consistent with the hypothesis that ozone-initiated indoor reactions play an important role in indoor air quality and building occupant health. Replication with increased statistical power and with longitudinal data is needed. If the observed associations are confirmed as causal, ventilation system ozone removal technologies could reduce UR BRS prevalence when higher ambient ozone levels are present. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper provides strong statistical evidence that supports (but does not prove) the hypothesis that ozone entrained into buildings from the outdoor air is involved in increasing the frequency that occupants experience and a range of upper and lower respiratory, mucosal and neurological symptoms by as much as a factor of 2 when ambient ozone levels increase from those found in low-ozone regions to those typical of high-ozone regions. Although replication is needed, the implication is that reducing the amount of ozone entrained into building ventilation systems, either by ambient pollution reduction or engineered gas-phase filtration, may substantially reduce the prevalence of these symptoms experienced by occupants. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Irritants Occupational Health Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-monitoring Air-quality-measurement Air-quality-monitoring Air-sampling Environmental-exposure Environmental-hazards Environmental-health Environmental-health-monitoring Environmental-pollution Inhalation-studies Respiration Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-rate Statistical-analysis Work-areas Work-environment Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  0905-6947
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  156-170
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033885
• Citation:
  Indoor Air 2008 Apr; 18(2):156-170
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael G Apte, Ph.D. Acting Group Leader Commercial Buildings and Indoor Environmental Quality Group Indoor Environment Department MS: 90-3058 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 1 Cyclotron Rd Berkeley CA 94720
• Email:
  mgapte@lbl.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Work Environment and Workforce: Indoor Environment
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040901
• Source Full Name:
  Indoor Air
• End Date:
  20080831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:61250965d947250a54289c34d61b66c4de16711e03c5a5e4886e946a104913f9115833efafed840703d48a74050e2c2b80c8799703437ce994b0c600c094cb85
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189296/cdc_189296_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 262.01 KB ]