AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Advances in Particulate Matter Exposure Assessment Instrumentation
Charles Rodes, JONATHAN THORNBURG, RTI International
Abstract Number: 567 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract Recent advances in exposure assessment technologies, especially for difficult cohorts like children or senior citizens, enable stronger correlation between the environmental stressor and adverse health outcome. The MicroPEM technology provides exposure data that can significantly enhance health and safety in both residential and occupational settings in an unobtrusive package. The ability to reduce exposure misclassification bias is the key to strengthening the exposure-health link. The MicroPEM is deployed in three current particulate matter exposure studies. One study is examining environmental causes of acute respiratory disease in children. Senior citizen’s exposure to carcinogens in particulate matter from nearby point sources is another. Lastly, exposures to biomass cookstove smoke are being measured in developing countries. Successes and improvements will be discussed using data quality indicators and practical considerations for deploying the MicroPEM in each study. The focus will be the ability to link exposure data to the specific health outcome of interest for each study. Additional facets to be discussed include prediction of inhaled dose from the accelerometer and nephelometer data, compliance with study protocols as measured by an accelerometer, integrated filter gravimetric and speciation detection limits, automatic nephelometer calibration and relative humidity correction, comparison of data from the MicroPEM and other exposure monitor technologies used in previous studies, MicroPEM performance in high concentration environments, system cycle options to obtain 7-day samples, and feasibility of conducting large scale mail-out studies.