A novel living environment exposure matrix of the common organic air pollutants for exposure assessment

Abstract

Although the most accurate estimations of exposure to organic air pollutants are direct personal measurements, it is prohibitive for large-scale epidemiological studies, both in terms of cost-saving and procedure time. Therefore, indirect exposure assessments offer a potentially feasible approach for estimating population exposures to organic air pollution. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel living environment exposure matrix of the common organic air pollutants, which was used in large-scale epidemiological studies. The common organic air pollutants and a range of potential living environment factors were collected and matched according to the statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the World Health Organization. Paints (dyes), paint removing, and furniture are the most common source of living environment exposure (n = 6). Furthermore, most of the common organic air pollutants are associated with exposure to coal, oil and gasoline burning, smoking, and carpet backing (n ≥ 2). Electricity is considered a clean fuel due to they generate less organic air pollutants compared to other living environment factors in this study. However, whether gas burning is considered as a source of indoor organic air pollutants in large-scale epidemiological studies need to be further investigated. The present study summarizes the living environment exposure matrix of the common organic air pollution, which could be used to estimate exposure to organic air pollutants in large-scale epidemiological studies in the future.

Keywords

• Volatile organic compounds
• Air pollution
• Indoor environment
• Exposure assessment
• Matrix