Optimizing outdoor smoking points outside large exhibition halls based on real-time on-site PM2.5 and CO2 monitoring

Abstract

BackgroundImproper settings of outdoor smoking points in public places may increase the risk of secondhand smoke exposure among the population. Conducting research on air pollution in and around smoking spots and related influencing factors can provide valuable insights for optimizing the setting of outdoor smoking points. ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of the number of smokers at outdoor smoking points and the distance on the diffusion characteristics of surrounding air pollutants, in order to optimize the setting of outdoor smoking points. MethodsSurrounding the exhibition halls in the China International Import Expo (CIIE), two outdoor smoking points were randomly selected, one on the first floor (ground level) and the other on the second floor (16 m above ground), respectively. At 0, 3, 6, and 9 m from the smoking points in the same direction, validated portable air pollutant monitors were used to measure the real-time fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations for consecutive 5 d during the exhibition, as well as the environmental meteorological factors at 0 m with weather meters including wind speed, wind direction, and air pressure. An open outdoor atmospheric background sampling point was selected on each of the two floors to carry out parallel sampling. Simultaneously, the number of smokers at each smoking point were double recorded per minute. The relationships between the number of smokers, distance from the smoking points, and ambient PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations were evaluated by generalized additive regression models for time-series data after adjustment of confounders such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. ResultsThe median numbers of smokers at smoking points on the first and second floors were 6 [interquartile range (IQR): 3, 9] and 9 (IQR: 6, 13), respectively. Windless (wind speed <0.6 m·s−1) occupied most of the time (85.9%) at both locations. The average concentration of ambient PM2.5 at the smoking points (0 m) [mean ± standard deviation, (106±114) μg·m−3] was 4.2 times higher than that of the atmospheric background [(25±7) μg·m−3], the PM2.5 concentration showed a gradient decline with the increase of distance from the smoking points, and the average PM2.5 concentration at 9 m points [(35±22) μg·m−3] was close to the background level (1.4 times higher). The maximum concentration of CO2 [(628±23) μmol·mol−1] was observed at 0 m, and its average value was 1.3 times higher than that of the atmospheric background [(481±40) μmol·mol−1], and there was no gradient decrease in CO2 concentration with increasing distance at 0, 3, 6, and 9 m points. The regression analyses showed that, taking smoking point as the reference, every 3 m increase in distance was associated with a decrease of ambient PM2.5 by 24.6 [95% confidence interval (95%CI): 23.5, 25.8] μg·m−3 (23.2%) and CO2 by 54.1 (95%CI: 53.1, 55.1) μmol·mol−1 (8.6%). Every one extra smoker at the smoking point was associated with an average increase of PM2.5 and CO2 by 2.0 (95%CI: 1.7, 2.8) μg·m−3 and 1.0 (95%CI: 0.7，1.2) μmol·mol−1, respectively. The sensitivity analysis indicated that, under windless conditions, the concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2 at the smoking points were even higher but the decreasing and dispersion characteristics remained consistent. ConclusionOutdoor smoking points could significantly increase the PM2.5 concentrations in the surrounding air and the risks of secondhand smoke exposure, despite of the noticeable decreasing trend with increasing distance. Considering the inevitable poor dispersion conditions such as windless and light wind, outdoor smoking points are recommended to be set at least 9 m or farther away from non-smoking areas.

Keywords

• china international import expo
• fine particulate matter
• smoking behavior
• public place
• generalized additive model