Using Regional Data and Building Leakage to Assess Indoor Concentrations of Particles of Outdoor Origin

Time-resolved fine particle concentrations of nitrate, sulfate, and black carbon were examined to assess the appropriateness of using regional data and calculated air exchange rates to model indoor concentrations of particles from outdoor sources. The data set includes simultaneous, sub-hourly aerosol composition measurements at three locations: a regional monitoring site in Fresno, California, inside of an unoccupied residence in Clovis, California, located 6 km northeast of the regional site, and immediately outside of this same residence. Indoor concentrations of PM_2.5 nitrate, sulfate, and black carbon were modeled using varying sets of inputs to determine the influence of three factors on model accuracy: the constraints of the simplified indoor-outdoor model, measured versus modeled air exchange rates, and local versus regional outdoor measurements.

Modeled indoor concentrations captured the lag and attenuation in indoor concentrations as well as the differences among chemical constituents in the indoor-outdoor concentration relationships. During periods when the house was closed and unoccupied, use of air exchange rates calculated from the LBNL infiltration model in place of those directly measured did not contribute significantly to the error in the estimated indoor concentrations. Differences between ambient concentrations at the regional monitoring site and the immediate neighborhood contributed to estimation errors for sulfate and black carbon. Evaporation was the dominant factor affecting indoor nitrate concentrations. Even when limiting the model inputs to concentrations and meteorological parameters measured at the regional monitoring station, the modeled concentrations were more highly correlated with measured indoor concentrations than were the regional measurements themselves.