AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Determinants of Particle Concentration in Social Housing in Toronto
JEFFREY SIEGEL, Alireza Mahdavi, University of Toronto
Abstract Number: 303 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in social housing is often poor and the exposed population vulnerable to the health effects of indoor contaminants. We are conducting an investigation of IEQ in 75 social housing apartments in Toronto with the goal of informing building retrofits and are measuring a variety of building and environmental factors and surveying the occupants in these homes. Concentrations of particles >0.5 and >2.5 µm were highly variable within and between the units, but were generally higher but comparable to measurements of particles in other urban homes in Canada. The single biggest determinant of elevated particulate matter concentration was the presence of at least one smoker in the apartment. However, even when the impact of smoking was removed, there were no other significant associations with other measured factors including relevant survey questions, building factors (e.g., height of unit within a building), outdoor air quality (e.g., proximity to a major roadway), per person ventilation rate (CO2 concentration relative to outdoors), and the concentration of other indoor contaminants (e.g., formaldehyde). This lack of associations suggests the importance of indoor sources, and further the challenges in reducing particle exposure among social housing inhabitants. The purpose of this project is to inform building retrofit measures with the goal of simultaneously improving thermal comfort, reducing energy use, and diminishing exposure to indoor contaminants. These results suggest the challenge of both addressing energy use and IEQ in retrofits like these.