Ambient air quality and indoor exposure: PM2.5 implications for health in Suva Fiji
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Date
2018-03-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand
Abstract
Air quality data collected at urban background locations is often assumed to represent a wider urban area. Localised sources and conditions can however cause variation between different microenvironments in the same urban area. Differences in PM2.5 (particulate less than 2.5 μm) composition may also have greater implications for health outcomes than PM2.5 concentration considered alone. Samples of PM2.5 were collected for three outdoor and nine indoor microenvironments across Suva, Fiji in 2014/15. Elemental concentration data have been used to estimate source contributions to PM2.5 for each site. The 12 sites are compared to concurrent ambient measurements at a fixed monitoring site in Suva City and to ambient photometer data. The objective is to determine how well ambient measurements represent air quality across the city, including indoor environments. Surveys were used to determine how much time is spent indoors and outdoors by Suva residents to ascertain potential exposure risks. Results show that PM2.5 concentration and composition varies significantly between the different microenvironments studied. Indoor air quality was affected by both ambient air and indoor sources. Fuel used for cooking, particularly wood and kerosene, influenced indoor PM2.5 and black carbon. Given that the survey showed that people spend more time indoors than outdoors, as experienced elsewhere in the world, ambient measures of PM2.5 concentration and calculated related health risk does not accurately reflect exposures arising from city indoor microenvironments. © 2018 The Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand
Description
Keywords
Fiji, Particles, Air quality, Indoor air pollution, Air pollution, Air pollution monitoring
Citation
Isley, C. F., Nelson, P. F., Taylor, M. P., Morrison, A., Atanacio, A. J., Stelcer, E., & Cohen, D. D. (2018). Ambient Air Quality And Indoor Exposure: PM 2.5 Implications For Health In Suva Fiji. Air Quality & Climate Change, 52(1), 35-43. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=590136223725173;res=IELNZC