title: Chamber exposures of children to mixed ozone, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuric acid.
abstract: 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."
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Service, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, Downey, California 90242, USA.
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Linn
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Shamoo
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Avol
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D010126:Ozone; C033158:sulfuric acid