AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Estimation of Residential Exposure to Coal Powered Power Plant Emissions: From Regional to Biological Specimens
QUENTIN MALLOY, Cortina Johnson, James Raymer, Jonathan Thornburg, Elizabeth Frey, Sangeeta Gupta, RTI International
Abstract Number: 539 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract The southern Delaware area surrounding the town of Millsboro has been previously designated as a cancer cluster because of the elevated lung and bladder cancer rates. In order to study the potential linkage between the local coal-fired power plant and the increased cancer rates, a two part study was developed to examine regional, residential, and personal PM$_2.5 samples along with biological samples. Thirty-two participants were recruited to be sampled over the course of a 4 week campaign while the power plant was shut down for upgrades. Samples were obtained at one semi-rural background site and four sampling sites located approximately 2.5 miles from the power plant. Participants had PM samplers placed outside and inside their homes along with being outfitted with a personal PM sampler. Outdoor residential PM$_2.5 averaged over the course of the campaign was 16.4 micrograms/m$^3, while indoor samples averaged 43.3 micrograms/m$^3. Personal samples averaged 24.3 micrograms/m$^3. Elemental analysis by XRF indicated PM enriched with typical crustal materials such as Ca and Si along with other common elements of sulfur and zinc. Background samples indicated good spatial uniformity in composition and mass with the exception of the Northeast site which was enriched with Si compared to the other three samplers. Blood and urine samples indicated elevated levels of arsenic or selenium in 12 of the 32 participants.