AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Evaluation of Real-time Instruments Used to Monitor PM in a Green Building
ZUOCHENG WANG, Gediminas Mainelis, Leonardo Calderon, Clinton J. Andrews, Richard Wener, Jennifer Senick, MaryAnn Sorensen-Allacci, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 564 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract Studies show that exposure to elevated concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM) poses a significant human health risk. Traditional exposure monitoring methods employing filter-based samplers are robust and can provide accurate results. However, continuous real-time PM monitors are advantageous due to their ability to provide time-resolved data. To be confident of the data provided by real-time PM monitors which use a variety of methods to measure PM concentration these instruments should be evaluated in a wide range of environments, including indoor environment.
In our ongoing study of indoor air quality (IAQ) in a green residential high rise building we measured various PM fractions by using a PMI2.5 impactor (PM2.5; SKC, Inc), a DRX monitor (PM2.5, PM4, PM10, total PM; TSI 8534), a pDR-1500 monitor (real time and gravimetric PM2.5; Thermo Scientific), and an Optical Particle Counter (OPC, TSI 8820). The measurements were performed in 17 homes and repeated 3 times in different seasons. In each home, DRX and OPC sampled for 60 minutes, while PMI2.5 and pDR-1500 sampled for 24 hours. 37 mm Teflon filters were used for PMI2.5 and pDR-1500. Here we compare data obtained with different instruments.
The results indicate that the filter-based measurements of PMI 2.5 and pDR-1500 were highly correlated (R$^2=0.9639) and the result was similar between the pDR-1500 real-time reading (24 hr average) and pDR-1500 filter mass (R$^2=0.8438). The PM2.5 readings of DRX (1 hour average) and pDR-1500 (average of the first hour) were also highly correlated (R$^2= 0.7137). The airborne particle number concentration from OPC was used to estimate particulate mass (PM2.5) by assuming that particles are spherical and have density of 1.65 g/cm$^3. The estimated mass concentration by the OPC were well correlated with DRX readings (R$^2=0.6390). This comparison will be useful for investigators performing PM measurements using different instruments and methods.