title: A review of air exchange rate models for air pollution exposure assessments.
abstract: A critical aspect of air pollution exposure assessments is estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) for various buildings where people spend their time. The AER, which is the rate of exchange of indoor air with outdoor air, is an important determinant for entry of outdoor air pollutants and for removal of indoor-emitted air pollutants. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of the scientific literature on empirical and physically based AER models for residential and commercial buildings; the models highlighted here are feasible for exposure assessments as extensive inputs are not required. Models are included for the three types of airflows that can occur across building envelopes: leakage, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation. Guidance is provided to select the preferable AER model based on available data, desired temporal resolution, types of airflows, and types of buildings included in the exposure assessment. For exposure assessments with some limited building leakage or AER measurements, strategies are described to reduce AER model uncertainty. This review will facilitate the selection of AER models in support of air pollution exposure assessments.
authors.affiliation: National Exposure Research Laboratory, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Breen
authors.affiliation: National Exposure Research Laboratory, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Analysis and Environment Impacts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.affiliation: National Center for Environmental Assessments, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Office of Air Quality and Planning Standards, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Langstaff
authors.affiliation: National Exposure Research Laboratory, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: National Exposure Research Laboratory, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isaacs
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Qing Yu
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Alion Science and Technology Inc, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Casson
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stallings
authors.affiliation: Alion Science and Technology Inc, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Luther
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006801:Humans; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D014691:Ventilation; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants