2024/11/22 by Xiaoying Li, Jessica Tryner, Bonnie N. Young +10 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Engineering · #Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting #Air Quality and Health Impacts #Vehicle emissions and performance
paper · doi:10.1080/02786826.2024.2415481
openalex publication_date 2024/11/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Reliable assessment of personal exposure to air pollution remains a challenge due to the limitations of monitoring technology. Recent technology developments, such as reductions in the size and cost of samplers as well as the incorporation of continuous sensors for location, activity, and exposure (i.e., global positioning systems [GPS], accelerometers, and low-cost pollutant sensors), have advanced our ability to assess personal exposure to air pollution. This study evaluated the upgraded Ultrasonic Personal Air Sampler (UPAS v2.1 PLUS) as a tool for quantifying time-integrated indoor and personal exposure to particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) among a panel of participants in California’s Central Valley and exploring personal exposures in different microenvironments using time/location-resolved PM2.5 data. Three field campaigns demonstrated that filter-derived PM10, PM2.5, PM10 BC, and PM2.5 BC concentrations measured using the UPAS were linear, unbiased, and precise compared to those measured using conventional personal sampling equipment. Time-resolved PM2.5, GPS, and light intensity data from the UPAS allowed for personal PM2.5 exposure assessment across microenvironments. The majority of daily PM2.5 exposure occurred inside the home. Participants with higher out-of-home PM2.5 exposures received those exposures primarily in agricultural and in-transit environments, in accordance with their self-reported occupational exposures. This study demonstrated the UPAS v2.1 PLUS is a reliable and valid tool for characterizing indoor air pollution and personal exposures in both temporal and spatial dimensions. Its enhanced capabilities should reduce the burden of personal activity logging in the field and enable accurate and precise estimation of exposures for epidemiological and community-based research.Copyright © 2024 American Association for Aerosol Research