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Experimentally Determined Human Respiratory Tract Deposition of Airborne Particles at a Busy Street

Löndahl, Jakob LU orcid ; Massling, Andreas ; Swietlicki, Erik LU orcid ; Brauner, Elvira Vaclavik ; Ketzel, Matthias ; Pagels, Joakim LU and Loft, Steffen (2009) In Environmental Science & Technology 43(13). p.4659-4664
Abstract
Traffic is one of the major sources of harmful airborne particles worldwide. To relate exposure to adverse health effects it is important to determine the deposition probability of the inhaled particles in the human respiratory tract. The size-dependent deposition of 12-580 nm particles was measured with a novel setup in 9 healthy subjects breathing by mouth on the windward side of a busy street in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aerosol was characterized both at the curbside and, to obtain the background concentration, at rooftop level. Particle hygroscopicity, a key parameter affecting respiratory tract deposition, was also measured at the same time of exposure. The total deposition fraction of the curbside particles in the range 12-580 nm was... (More)
Traffic is one of the major sources of harmful airborne particles worldwide. To relate exposure to adverse health effects it is important to determine the deposition probability of the inhaled particles in the human respiratory tract. The size-dependent deposition of 12-580 nm particles was measured with a novel setup in 9 healthy subjects breathing by mouth on the windward side of a busy street in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aerosol was characterized both at the curbside and, to obtain the background concentration, at rooftop level. Particle hygroscopicity, a key parameter affecting respiratory tract deposition, was also measured at the same time of exposure. The total deposition fraction of the curbside particles in the range 12-580 nm was 0.60 by number, 0.29 by surface area, and 0.23 by mass. The deposition fractions of the "traffic exhaust" contribution, calculated as the hydrophobic fraction of the curbside particles, was 0.68, 0.35, and 0.28 by number, surface area, and mass, respectively. The deposited amount of traffic exhaust particles was 16 times higher by number and 3 times higher by surface area compared to the deposition of residential biofuel combustion particles investigated previously (equal inhaled mass concentrations). This was because the traffic exhaust particles had both a higher deposition probability and a higher number and surface area concentration per unit mass. To validate the results, the respiratory tract deposition was estimated by using the well-established ICRP. model. Predictions were in agreement with experimental results when the effects of particle hygroscopicity were considered in the model. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Environmental Science & Technology
volume
43
issue
13
pages
4659 - 4664
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • wos:000267435500010
  • scopus:67649985706
ISSN
1520-5851
DOI
10.1021/es803029b
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Nuclear Physics (Faculty of Technology) (011013007), Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology (011025002)
id
71d92a8b-5cdf-4989-ac46-1ef4ee6ee251 (old id 1461682)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:04:14
date last changed
2022-02-12 00:38:55
@article{71d92a8b-5cdf-4989-ac46-1ef4ee6ee251,
  abstract     = {{Traffic is one of the major sources of harmful airborne particles worldwide. To relate exposure to adverse health effects it is important to determine the deposition probability of the inhaled particles in the human respiratory tract. The size-dependent deposition of 12-580 nm particles was measured with a novel setup in 9 healthy subjects breathing by mouth on the windward side of a busy street in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aerosol was characterized both at the curbside and, to obtain the background concentration, at rooftop level. Particle hygroscopicity, a key parameter affecting respiratory tract deposition, was also measured at the same time of exposure. The total deposition fraction of the curbside particles in the range 12-580 nm was 0.60 by number, 0.29 by surface area, and 0.23 by mass. The deposition fractions of the "traffic exhaust" contribution, calculated as the hydrophobic fraction of the curbside particles, was 0.68, 0.35, and 0.28 by number, surface area, and mass, respectively. The deposited amount of traffic exhaust particles was 16 times higher by number and 3 times higher by surface area compared to the deposition of residential biofuel combustion particles investigated previously (equal inhaled mass concentrations). This was because the traffic exhaust particles had both a higher deposition probability and a higher number and surface area concentration per unit mass. To validate the results, the respiratory tract deposition was estimated by using the well-established ICRP. model. Predictions were in agreement with experimental results when the effects of particle hygroscopicity were considered in the model.}},
  author       = {{Löndahl, Jakob and Massling, Andreas and Swietlicki, Erik and Brauner, Elvira Vaclavik and Ketzel, Matthias and Pagels, Joakim and Loft, Steffen}},
  issn         = {{1520-5851}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{13}},
  pages        = {{4659--4664}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Environmental Science & Technology}},
  title        = {{Experimentally Determined Human Respiratory Tract Deposition of Airborne Particles at a Busy Street}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es803029b}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/es803029b}},
  volume       = {{43}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}