Effect of central ventilation and air conditioner system on the concentration and health risk from airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Central ventilation and air conditioner systems are widely utilized nowadays in public places for air exchange and temperature control, which significantly influences the transfer of pollutants between indoors and outdoors. To study the effect of central ventilation and air conditioner systems on the concentration and health risk from airborne pollutants, a spatial and temporal survey was carried out using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as agent pollutants. During the period when the central ventilation system operated without air conditioning (AC-off period), concentrations of 2-4 ring PAHs in the model supermarket were dominated by outdoor levels, due to the good linearity between indoor air and outdoor air (r(p) > 0.769, p < 0.05), and the slopes (1.2-4.54) indicated that ventilating like the model supermarket increased the potential health risks from low molecular weight PAHs. During the period when the central ventilation and air conditioner systems were working simultaneously (AC-on period), although the total levels of PAHs were increased, the concentrations and percentage of the particulate PAHs indoors declined significantly. The BaP equivalency (BaPeq) concentration indicated that utilization of air conditioning reduced the health risks from PAHs in the model supermarket.
Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Jinze
J
Lv
Lizhong
L
Zhu
D000389:Air Conditioning; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000032:analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D044367:Phase Transition; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014691:Ventilation
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; D009281:Naphthalenes; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; C031721:naphthalene; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene