Comparison of Time-Activity Patterns in Different Periods in Tianjin, China

Abstract

P-585 Abstract: Exposure assessment requires two essential data: the duration of time that people are exposed in microenvironments and their activities during the exposure. There are, however, few time-activity patterns data available today in China, which discloses the inherent correlations among activity, location, time and the pattern of exposures. The study collected and analyzed the time-activity patterns data via surveying different group of people. In total, below four surveys were conducted and statistic software SPSS was used to analyze the pattern. (1) Male and female adults’ time-activity pattern survey in 1994. Female adults spent more time in kitchens, bedrooms and offices (72.6% in total) than male adults did (65.8% in total). Time spent outdoors in summer was longer than that in winter. (2) Professional and non-professional time-activity pattern survey for the peracetic acid exposure assessment in 2003. Although there was no difference between general time-activity pattern of nurses and that of common people in the epidemic period of SARS, the time adults spent at home in the special period was little longer than that in normal period. (3) Children and adults’ time-activity pattern survey for the PM[inf]10[r] exposure assessment in 2004. The younger the people are, the longer time they spent indoors. The schoolchildren spent 84.4% of their time indoors on weekdays and 84.3% on weekends on average, higher than 79.4% for the male adults and 83.1% for the female adults. (4) Adolescents, adults and the aged time-activity pattern survey for the VOCs exposure assessment in 2005. The aged spent much more time indoor at home (74.2%) than adults (45.0%) and adolescents (48.0%) did, and the time they stayed outdoors (18.3%) was also longer than adults (5.0%) and adolescents (8.0%) did. Adolescents and adults group spent more time in indoor working/ studying places and in transit. In general, the results showed that the time adults spent in offices has increased from 1994 (22.9% for male and 24.9% for female) to 2004 (31.8% for male and 34.2% for female). The main mode of daily transportation for most adults was the bicycle, and the next was the bus, which kept unaltered. The survey results were compared against the Canadian Human Activity Pattern Survey (CHAPS) and the National Human Activity Pattern Survey in US (NHAPS). The comparison results matches with the different life styles among those countries. Key Words: time activity pattern survey, indoor air quality, exposure, Northern China