Outdoor-to-indoor transport of ultrafine particles: Measurement and model development of infiltration factor

Abstract

Ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs: particles of diameter less than 100 nm) cause significant adverse health effects. As people spend most time indoors, the outdoor-to-indoor transport of UFPs plays a critical role in the accuracy of personal exposure assessments. Herein, a strategy was proposed to measure and analyze the infiltration factor (Finf) of UFPs, an important parameter quantifying the fraction of ambient air pollutants that travel inside and remain suspended indoors. Ninety-three measurements were conducted in 11 residential rooms in all seasons in Beijing, China, to investigate Finf of UFPs and its associated influencing factors. A multilevel regression model incorporating eight possible factors that influence infiltration was developed to predict Finf and FinfSOA (defined as the ratio of indoor to outdoor UFP concentrations without indoor sources, but with indoor secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation). It was found that the air change rate was the most important factor and coagulation was considerable, while the influence of SOA formation was much smaller than that of other factors. Our regression model accurately predicted daily-average Finf. The annually-averaged Finf of UFPs was 0.66 ± 0.10, which is higher than that of PM2.5 and PM10, demonstrating the importance of controlling indoor UFPs of outdoor origin.