Exposure assessment of indoor PM levels during extreme dust episodes

Abstract

Millions of people live in areas that are subject to frequent dust events; however gaps remain in our knowledge about the association between dust, air quality and corresponding particulate matter (PM) exposure levels inside buildings. This case study demonstrates how the PM2.5 and PM10 levels in an urban environment respond to strong natural dust episodes. Real-time measurements were recorded simultaneously in indoor and outdoor environments in households in the city of Beer-Sheva, Israel during several strong dust events. A typical strong event was used for a detailed analysis of PM10 and PM2.5. Outdoor daily concentrations were above 1000 µg m−3 for PM10, the maximum hourly value of which was 1320 µg m−3. The indoor PM10 peaked at about 700 µg m−3 and fluctuated in parallel with the outdoor level but with a time lag of about 15 min. Indoor air tended to remain for several hours after the dust event had subsided. Analyses of multiple events revealed that the dependence of indoor PM2.5 and PM10 on natural dust varies but is not directly linked to the level of atmospheric dust concentration. From a health perspective, the exposure risk posed by extreme indoor PM2.5 and PM10 levels generated by natural dust episodes should be considered.