Indoor inhalation intake fractions of fine particulate matter: Review of influencing factors

Abstract

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_(2.5)) is a major contributor to the global human disease burden. The indoor environment is of particular importance when considering the health effects associated with PM_(2.5) exposures because people spend the majority of their time indoors and PM_(2.5) exposures per unit mass emitted indoors are two to three orders of magnitude larger than exposures to outdoor emissions. Variability in indoor PM_(2.5) intake fraction (iFin,total), which is defined as the integrated cumulative intake of PM_(2.5) per unit of emission, is driven by a combination of building-specific, human-specific, and pollutant-specific factors. Due to a limited availability of data characterizing these factors, however, indoor emissions and intake of PM_(2.5) are not commonly considered when evaluating the environmental performance of product life cycles. With the aim of addressing this barrier, a literature review was conducted and data characterizing factors influencing iFin,total were compiled. In addition to providing data for the calculation of iFin,total in various indoor environments and for a range geographic regions, this paper discusses remaining limitations to the incorporation of PM_(2.5)-derived health impacts into life cycle assessments and makes recommendations regarding future research.

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