TITLE:
Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter Exposure of Rural Interior Alaska Residents
AUTHORS:
Stanley G. Edwin, Nicole Mölders
KEYWORDS:
Indoor Air Quality, Yukon Flats Alaska, Fine Particulate Matter, PM2.5, Exposure in Rural Alaska, Tribal Air Quality Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Air Pollution,
Vol.9 No.3,
September
24,
2020
ABSTRACT: To
assess the exposure of residents in rural communities in the Yukon Flats to
particulate matter of 2.5 μm or less in diameter (PM2.5), both
indoor and outdoor concentration observations were carried out from March to
September 2019 in Ft. Yukon, Alaska. Indoor concentrations were measured at
0.61 m (breathing level during sleeping) in homes and at 1.52 m heights
(breathing level of standing adult) in homes and office/commercial buildings.
Air quality was better at both heights in cabins than frame homes both during
times with and without surface-based inversions. In frame houses,
concentrations were higher at 0.61 m than 1.52 m, while the opposite is true
typically for cabins. Differences between shoulder season and summer indoor
concentrations in residences were related to changes in heating, subsistence
lifestyle and mosquito repellents. In summer, office and commercial buildings,
air quality decreased due to increased indoor emissions related to increased
use of equipment and mosquito pics as well as more merchandise. During summer
indoor concentrations reached unhealthy for sensitive groups to hazardous
conditions for extended times that even exceeded the high outdoor
concentrations. Due to nearby wildfires, July mean outdoor concentrations were
55.3 μg·m-3 which exceeds the 24-h US National Ambient Air Quality
Standard of 35 μg·m-3. Indoor and outdoor concentrations correlated
the strongest with each other for office/commercial buildings, followed by
frame houses and cabins. Office/commercial buildings with temperature monitors
had one to two orders of magnitude lower concentrations than those without.