A case study of personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide using a new high sensitive diffusive sampler

Abstract

Personal NO 2 exposure measurements were achieved during two campaigns in a large northern France city. These campaigns were following an innovating approach based on sequential exposure measurements by diffusive samplers distinguishing four categories of microenvironments (“home”, “other indoor places”, “transport” and “outdoors”). The objective of these campaigns was to obtain NO 2 personal exposure data in different microenvironments and to examine the determinants of personal exposure to this pollutant. Each campaign comprised two 24-h sampling periods: one during a working day and the second during the weekend. The average total NO 2 personal exposure ranged from 17 μg m − 3 for the summer weekend samplings to 38 μg m − 3 for the winter weekday samplings. The highest levels were found in transports and outdoors, the intermediate ones in other indoor places and the lowest in homes. Despite their weak levels, indoor environments contributed for more than 78% to total NO 2 personal exposure because of more time spent in these living places. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) highlighted the determinants of NO 2 personal exposure in the “home” and “transport” microenvironments. This led to a classification of NO 2 personal exposure levels according to different means of transport: from the lowest to the highest exposure levels, train, tramway or underground, bicycle, car or motorcycle. In homes, the rise of NO 2 personal exposures is mainly due to the use of gas stoves and gas heating and the absence of automatic airing system. A classification of NO 2 personal exposure levels was set up according to the characteristics of homes. An analysis of correlations between the home NO 2 personal exposures and outdoor concentrations measured by fixed ambient air monitoring stations showed weak relations suggesting that the data of these stations are poor predictors of NO 2 personal exposures in homes.