Particulate matter and gaseous pollutants in residences in Antwerp, Belgium

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 407; no. 3; pp. 1182 - 1192
• Main Authors: Stranger, M., Potgieter-Vermaak, S.S., Van Grieken, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 15-01-2009; [Amsterdam; New York]: Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Subjects: Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Air quality; Air. Soil. Water. Waste. Feeding; Aluminum; Applied sciences; Asthma; Asthma - epidemiology; Atmospheric pollution; Belgium - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Buildings. Public works; Chromium; Coarsening; Concentration (composition); Correlation; Environment. Living conditions; Estimates; Exact sciences and technology; Flanders; Gaseous pollutants; Gases - analysis; Household Articles - statistics & numerical data; Houses; Humans; Indoor; Indoor air quality; Indoor pollution and occupational exposure; Iron; Lead (metal); Life Style; Medical sciences; Nickel; Nitrogen dioxide; Outdoor; Personal exposure; PM 1; PM 10; PM 2.5; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution indoor buildings; Prevalence; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Stoves; Suburban Population; Sulfur Dioxide - analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Titanium; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; Belgium; Europe; Belgium, Flanders; PM 10; PM 1; Personal exposure; PM 2.5; Gaseous pollutants; Indoor air quality; Urban area; Ion composition; Sulfur dioxide; Coarse particle; Health and environment; Fine particle; PM1; PM2.5; Microparticle; Indoor outdoor ratio; Public health; Ozone; Air quality; Exposure; Housing; Heavy metal; Trace element; One family house; Human activity; Aerosols; Indoor pollution; Suburban zone; PM10; Nitrogen dioxide; Concentration distribution
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.019

This comprehensive study, a first in Flanders, Belgium, aimed at characterizing the residential indoor air quality of subgroups that took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS I—1991 and ECHRS II—1996) questionnaire-based asthma and related illnesses studies. This pilot study aimed at the evaluation of particulate matter and various inorganic gaseous compounds in residences in Antwerp. In addition personal exposure to the gaseous compounds of one individual per residence was assessed. The main objective was to obtain some base-line pollutant levels and compare these with studies performed in other cities, to estimate the indoor air quality in residences in Antwerp. Correlations between the various pollutant levels, indoor:outdoor ratios and the micro-environments of each residence were investigated. This paper presents results on indoor and ambient PM
1, PM
2.5 and PM
10 mass concentrations, its elemental composition in terms of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb, Al, Si, S and Cl and the water-soluble ionic concentrations in terms of SO
4
2−, NO
3
2−, Cl
−, NH
4
+ K
+, Ca
2+. In addition, indoor, ambient and personal exposure levels of the gases NO
2, SO
2, and O
3 were determined. Elevated indoor:outdoor ratios were found for NO
2 in residences containing gas stoves. In smoker's houses increased PM concentrations of 58 and 43% were found for the fine and coarse fractions respectively. Contrary to the fact that all I/O ratios of the registered elements in each individual house were significantly correlated to each other, no correlation could be established between the I/O ratios of the different houses, thus indicating a unique micro-environment for each residence. Linear relationships between the particulate matter elemental composition, SO
2 and O
3 levels indoors and outdoors could be established. No linear relationships between indoor and outdoor NO
2 and particulate mass concentrations were found.