Chamber exposures of children to mixed ozone, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuric acid.
To help assess acute health effects of summer air pollution in the eastern United States, we simulated ambient "acid summer haze" as closely as was practical in a laboratory chamber. We exposed young volunteers who were thought to be sensitive to this pollutant mixture on the basis of previous epidemiologic evidence. Specifically, we exposed 41 subjects aged 9-12 y to mixed ozone (0.10 ppm), sulfur dioxide (0.10 ppm), and 0.6-microm sulfuric acid aerosol (100 +/- 40 microg/m3, mean +/- standard deviation) for 4 h, during which there was intermittent exercise. Fifteen subjects were healthy, and 26 had allergy or mild asthma. The entire group responded nonsignificantly (p > .05) to pollution exposure (relative to clean air), as determined by spirometry, symptoms, and overall discomfort level during exercise. Subjects with allergy/asthma showed a positive association (p = .01) between symptoms and acid dose; in healthy subjects, that association was negative (p = .08). In these chamber-exposure studies, we noted less of an effect than was reported in previous epidemiologic studies of children exposed to ambient "acid summer haze."
Linn
W S
WS
Environmental Health Service, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, Downey, California 90242, USA.
Gong
H
H
Shamoo
D A
DA
Anderson
K R
KR
Avol
E L
EL
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology; D001273:Atmosphere Exposure Chambers; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010126:Ozone / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000503:physiopathology; D012621:Seasons; D013147:Spirometry; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
D000393:Air Pollutants; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D010126:Ozone; C033158:sulfuric acid