Feasibility of Using Low-Cost Portable Particle Monitors for Measurement of Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter in Urban Ambient Air

Details

• Personal Author:
  Han I ; Stock TH ; Symanski, Elaine
• Description:
  Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is known as a significant risk factor for mortality and morbidity due to cardiorespiratory causes. Owing to increased interest in assessing personal and community exposures to PM, we evaluated the feasibility of employing a low-cost portable direct-reading instrument for measurement of ambient air PM exposure. A Dylos DC 1700 PM sensor was collocated with a Grimm 11-R in an urban residential area of Houston, Texas. The 1-min averages of particle number concentrations for sizes between 0.5 and 2.5 um (small size) and sizes larger than 2.5 um (large size) from a DC 1700 were compared with the 1-min averages of PM2.5 (aerodynamic size less than 2.5 um) and coarse PM (aerodynamic size between 2.5 and 10 um) concentrations from a Grimm 11-R. We used a linear regression equation to convert DC 1700 number concentrations to mass concentrations, utilizing measurements from the Grimm 11-R. The estimated average DC 1700 PM2.5 concentration (13.2 +/- 13.7 ug/m3) was similar to the average measured Grimm 11-R PM2.5 concentration (11.3 +/- 15.1 ug/m3). The overall correlation (r2) for PM2.5 between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R was 0.778. The estimated average coarse PM concentration from the DC 1700 (5.6 +/- 12.1 ug/m3) was also similar to that measured with the Grimm 11-R (4.8 +/- 16.5 ug/m3) with an r2 of 0.481. The effects of relative humidity and particle size on the association between the DC 1700 and the Grimm 11-R results were also examined. The calculated PM mass concentrations from the DC 1700 were close to those measured with the Grimm 11-R when relative humidity was less than 60% for both PM2.5 and coarse PM. Particle size distribution was more important for the association of coarse PM between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R than it was for PM2.5. Implications: The performance of a low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensor was evaluated in an urban residential area. Both PM2.5 and coarse PM (PM10-2.5) mass concentrations were estimated using a DC1700 PM sensor. The calculated PM mass concentrations from the number concentrations of DC 1700 were close to those measured with the Grimm 11-R when relative humidity was less than 60% for both PM2.5 and coarse PM. Particle size distribution was more important for the association of coarse PM between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R than it was for PM2.5. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Air Contaminants Air Pollution Air Quality Measurement Analytical Instruments Cost Effectiveness Costs Direct-reading Methods Environmental Contamination Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Equipment Reliability Equipment Testing Measurement Equipment Mobile Equipment Particle Diameter Particle Size Particulates Performance Capability Performance Tests Pollutants Regression Analysis Sensors Ultrafine Particles

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• ISSN:
  1096-2247
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  330-340
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052721
• Citation:
  J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2017 Mar; 67(3):330-340
• Contact Point Address:
  Inkyu Han, PhD, MPH, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA
• Email:
  Inkyu.Han@uth.tmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:884ea0d4c585f27cab1686679cb7866bd18969e0974a67e85bab56d17992ee527e186709cdb1858b4643bd6401184cf11204d145c92173e8c7d9d04b50630f7f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212203/cdc_212203_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 992.16 KB ]