Abstract
BackgroundGlobal temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events are projected to increase and affect indoor exposure to outdoor particulate matter (PM); however, no studies have quantitatively examined the effect of climate change on particle infiltration and indoor PM exposure. ObectiveTo quantify the relationship between future changes in ambient temperature and fine particle (PM2.5) infiltration in the Greater Boston area. MethodsWe assembled a large database of outdoor and indoor PM2.5 data from 340 homes, and used the indoor-outdoor sulfur ratio (Sr) as a surrogate for PM2.5 infiltration. We employed linear mixed-effects models to examine the relationship between Sr and ambient temperature for all homes in the database and a subgroup of naturally ventilated homes. We used projected temperature data from 1981 to 2000 and 2046–2065 to predict future changes in Sr. ResultsThe summer-winter difference in Sr was calculated to be 30% and 54% for all homes and in the naturally ventilated subgroup, respectively. The largest future difference in Sr (21%) was linked to differences in prevalence of air conditioning. Furthermore, Sr was predicted to increase by 7% for naturally ventilated homes and 2% for all homes in summer, corresponding to an average increase of 2–3 °C in future temperature. ConclusionsWe found that increases in future temperature due to climate change will be associated with increased PM2.5 infiltration, particularly in summer. The predicted temperature-related changes in Sr can be used to characterize future health risk due to elevated indoor PM2.5 exposure through increased particle infiltration.
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