American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 37th Annual Conference
October 14 - October 18, 2019
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

Abstract View


Indoor and Outdoor PM4 Continuous Monitoring in a Low Income Community of Highveld Priority Area of South Africa

Joseph Adesina, Stuart Piketh, Marvin Qhekwana, Roelof Burger, Brigitte Language, Gabi Mkhatshwa, North-West University, South Africa

     Abstract Number: 99
     Working Group: Aerosol Exposure

Abstract
This study was carried out in a low income community situated in the proximity of three coal-fired plants to better understand the relationship between indoor and ambient respirable particulate matter (PM4). The findings were to serve as a guide in the implementation of air quality offset guidelines seeking to address environmental air pollution due to residential solid fuel combustion. Two formal Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses were selected for the study with a further classification of solid fuel burning and non-solid fuel burning. Continuous monitoring were carried out in both houses during summer and winter seasons. At solid fuel burning house the winter average concentration ranges between 60.9 µgm-3 and 208 µgm-3 while at non-solid fuel burning it ranges between 15.3 µgm-3 and 84.2 µgm-3. In both houses the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of PM2.5 (40 µgm-3) was exceeded during the winter season. The summer had a cleaner indoor concentration where the 24-hr average concentration hardly exceeded the required national standard. The concentration ranges between 17.4 µgm-3 and 36.6 µgm-3 at the solid fuel burning and between 14.2 µgm-3 and 39.9 µgm-3 at the non-solid fuel burning. During mornings and evenings, the indoor concentration were higher than the outdoor in both houses, these coincides with the burning pattern in this community but in the afternoon the outdoor sometimes were higher than the indoor perhaps as a result of the pollution from the power plants in the neighborhood of the township. There were no significant correlations between indoor and outdoor concentration during the winter, but the correlations were good for both houses during the summer.