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Investigation of Heatwave Effect on PM2.5 Levels Indoors using Consumer-grade Air Quality Sensors
RUIKANG HE, Ioanna Tsoulou, Sanjeevi Thirumurugesan, Brian Morgan, Stephania Gonzalez, Deborah Plotnik, Jennifer Senick, Gediminas Mainelis, Clinton J. Andrews, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 435
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract
Heatwaves have negative health effects on vulnerable populations due to thermal stress. At the same time, the effect of heatwaves (t > 90F) on indoor air quality is largely unknown. To start filling this data gap, we recruited 24 seniors from 3 sites in Elizabeth, NJ, to participate in a study during which we deployed consumer-grade sensors in their apartments to monitor particulate matter (PM2.5), air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, and air conditioner (AC) use. Additionally, one empty apartment that was used as a control and one outdoor station were set up with the same type of sensors. Measurements were performed from July to September of 2017.
We found that indoor PM2.5 levels varied among apartments. Still, heatwave had similar effects on indoor PM2.5 levels for all apartments, regardless of the building sites and individual behaviors of seniors, such as smoking and the financial ability to use AC. For each site, the PM2.5 levels during heatwaves days were higher than during non-heatwaves days for both smokers and non-smokers. Moreover, since human activity is a large contributor to indoor PM2.5, we separated the data into an active period (6:00 am to 9:00 pm) and the rest period (10:00 pm to next day 5:00 am), and found that the observation above was valid for both active and rest periods: during both time periods indoor PM2.5 levels were higher during heatwave days than during regular days.
Overall, our data suggest that long-term resident-to-building-to-neighborhood evaluation can be helpful for studies on how climate change affects human life. Our experience also demonstrated the utility and usability of consumer-grade air quality sensors to study factors affecting indoor air pollution. This research was funded by NSF grant AGS‐1645786.