10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Abstract View
Impacts of E-Cigarettes Consumptions on the Air Quality of Vape Shop and Its Nearby Areas
LIQIAO (VICKY) LI, Charlene Nguyen, Yan Lin, Yifang Zhu, University of California, Los Angeles
Abstract Number: 1105 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract With the rapid growth of e-cigarette (e-cig) market in the U.S, there is an increasing number of independent retail specialty shops (vape shops) that exclusively sell e-cig. The consumption of e-cig in the vape shop might bring a new emission source for aerosol exposure in its indoor environment and nearby businesses. In this study, we selected a representative vape shop in Los Angeles and recorded the number of vaping puffs in every 10 minutes in the shop for four days. Meanwhile, we measured real-time PM2.5 concentration and particle number concentration (PNC) in the vape shop as well as its nearby business (~ 3 m away) and outdoor area (~6 m away). Weekly average nicotine concentrations were also measured in each site. The average concentration (SD) of PM2.5, PNC and nicotine in the vape shop was 426 (1283) microgram/m3, 1.89 (2.14)*10^4 /cm3, and 1.71 microgram/m3, respectively, which were much higher than those in nearby business (i.e. PM2.5: 16.3 (9.3) microgram/m3; PNC: 8.42 (19.7)*10^3 /cm3; nicotine: 1.29 microgram/m3) and outdoor areas (i.e. PM2.5: 17.2 (14.0) microgram/m3; PNC: 8.96 (5.04)*10^3 /cm3). The number of vaping puffs were significantly correlated with PM2.5 concentration (r=0.74, p<0.001) and PNC (r=0.71, p<0.001) in the vape shop, indicating the significant contribution of e-cig consumption to indoor aerosols. On the day with the highest average puff number, PM2.5 and PNC in the vape shop were significantly correlated with those in nearby business and outdoor area (p<0.05), suggesting the impacts of vape shop on nearby air quality. Thus, the secondhand emissions of aerosols in the vape shop potentially impacted on both its and nearby indoor environment.