Estimation of personal ozone exposure using ambient concentrations and influencing factors

Yue Niu; Jing Cai; Yongjie Xia; Haofei Yu; Renjie Chen; Zhijing Lin; Cong Liu; Chen Chen; Weidong Wang; Li Peng; Xiaoling Xia; Qingyan Fu; Haidong Kan

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.017

Estimation of personal ozone exposure using ambient concentrations and influencing factors

Environ Int. 2018 Aug:117:237-242. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.017. Epub 2018 May 12.

Authors

Yue Niu¹, Jing Cai², Yongjie Xia¹, Haofei Yu³, Renjie Chen², Zhijing Lin¹, Cong Liu¹, Chen Chen¹, Weidong Wang¹, Li Peng⁴, Xiaoling Xia⁵, Qingyan Fu⁵, Haidong Kan⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
² School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Meteorology and Health, Shanghai Meteorological Service, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Meteorology and Health, Shanghai Meteorological Service, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, Shanghai 200235, China.
⁶ School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Population and Family Planning Commission, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Institute of Reproduction and Development, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: kanh@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 29763819
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.017

Abstract

Evidence is limited regarding whether ambient monitoring can properly represent personal ozone exposure. We conducted a longitudinal panel study to measure personal exposure to ozone using real-time personal ozone monitors. Corresponding ambient ozone concentrations and possible influencing factors (meteorological conditions and activity patterns) were also collected. We used linear mixed-effect models to analyze personal-ambient ozone concentration associations and possible influencing factors. Ambient ozone concentrations were around two to three times higher than personal ozone (43.1 μg/m³ on average) and their correlations were weak with small slopes (0.35) and marginal R square (R_M²) values (0.24). Larger R_M² values were found under high temperature (>29.5 °C), low humidity (<62.1%), good ventilation conditions (>4 h) and for individuals spent longer time outdoors (>0.6 h). In final model, personal ozone exposure was positively associated with ambient concentrations and ventilation conditions, but inversely correlated with ambient temperature and humidity. The models explained >50% of personal ozone concentration variabilities. Our results highlight that ambient ozone concentration alone is not a suitable surrogate for individual exposure assessment. Meteorological conditions (temperature and humidity) and activity patterns (windows opening and outdoor activities) that affecting personal ozone exposure should be taken into account.

Keywords: Ambient concentrations; Influencing factors; Ozone; Panel study; Personal exposure.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Environmental Exposure / analysis*
Humans
Humidity
Ozone / analysis*
Ventilation

Substances

Air Pollutants
Ozone