AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Assessing Pollutant Exposures in Rural Homes Using a Filter Forensics Approach
JUAN PEDRO MAESTRE, Shahana Khurshid, Kelli Royse, Sharon Horner, Jeffrey Siegel, Kerry Kinney, The University of Texas at Austin
Abstract Number: 329 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Delineating biological and chemical exposures in residential homes is an essential step toward understanding the effects of these exposures on the prevalence and severity of asthma and allergy in children. The filter forensics approach uses the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) filters installed in homes as integrated, long-term samplers of particle-bound contaminants, such as phthalates, microorganisms –bacteria and fungi-, endotoxins, and allergens. The objective of this study is to evaluate the use of HVAC filters for assessing housing-related contaminant exposures in rural homes.
In this study, over 20 low-income houses located in rural Texas are being sampled. Airborne dust samples are being collected from the home HVAC filters as well as settled dust samples from two locations within the household including the childrens’ bedroom. The phthalate, endotoxin, and allergen (cat, dog, mite) concentrations are being determined in the dust samples recovered from the HVAC filter samples and compared to the levels recovered from the settled dust samples. In addition, microbial DNA is being extracted and total fungal and bacterial loads analyzed by quantitative PCR. Fungal and bacterial communities are being delineated via high-throughput Illumina sequencing, targeting the bacterial 16S region and the fungal ITS-1 region. After quality control, operational taxonomic units, alpha-diversity and beta-diversity indices were calculated to compare the molecular results.
Results to date indicate that the dust samples obtained from HVAC filters and from settled dust identified different microbial species. Phthalates, endotoxins and allergens were detected in both types of dust samples. Allergen composition in dust samples might be influenced by the intrinsic characteristics of the allergens, like particle weight. The analysis of both types of dust samples suggests that HVAC filter dust when combined with HVAC characterization, offers a more controlled way of detecting and assessing indoor air contaminants present at low concentrations in homes.