Abstract
Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is known as a significant risk factor for mortality and morbidity due to cardiorespiratory causes. Owing to increased interest in assessing personal and community exposures to PM, we evaluated the feasibility of employing a low-cost portable direct-reading instrument for measurement of ambient air PM exposure. A Dylos DC 1700 PM sensor was collocated with a Grimm 11-R in an urban residential area of Houston Texas. The 1-min averages of particle number concentrations for sizes between 0.5 and 2.5 µm (small size) and sizes larger than 2.5 µm (large size) from a DC 1700 were compared with the 1-min averages of PM(2.5) (aerodynamic size less than 2.5 µm) and coarse PM (aerodynamic size between 2.5 and 10 µm) concentrations from a Grimm 11-R. We used a linear regression equation to convert DC 1700 number concentrations to mass concentrations, utilizing measurements from the Grimm 11-R. The estimated average DC 1700 PM(2.5) concentration (13.2 ± 13.7 µg/m(3)) was similar to the average measured Grimm 11-R PM(2.5) concentration (11.3 ± 15.1 µg/m(3)). The overall correlation (r(2)) for PM(2.5) between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R was 0.778. The estimated average coarse PM concentration from the DC 1700 (5.6 ± 12.1 µg/m(3)) was also similar to that measured with the Grimm 11-R (4.8 ± 16.5 µg/m(3)) with an r(2) of 0.481. The effects of relative humidity and particle size on the association between the DC 1700 and the Grimm 11-R results were also examined. The calculated PM mass concentrations from the DC 1700 were close to those measured with the Grimm 11-R when relative humidity was less than 60% for both PM(2.5) and coarse PM. Particle size distribution was more important for the association of coarse PM between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R than it was for PM(2.5). IMPLICATIONS: The performance of a low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensor was evaluated in an urban residential area. Both PM(2.5) and coarse PM (PM(10-2.5)) mass concentrations were estimated using a DC1700 PM sensor. The calculated PM mass concentrations from the number concentrations of DC 1700 were close to those measured with the Grimm 11-R when relative humidity was less than 60% for both PM(2.5) and coarse PM. Particle size distribution was more important for the association of coarse PM between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R than it was for PM(2.5).