Impact of time–activity patterns on personal exposure to black carbon

Time–activity patterns are an important determinant of personal exposure to air pollution. This is demonstrated by measuring personal exposure of 16 participants for 7 consecutive days: 8 couples of which one person was a full-time worker and the other was a homemaker; both had a very different time–activity pattern. We used portable aethalometers to measure black carbon levels with a high temporal resolution and a PDA with GPS-logger and electronic diary. The exposure to black carbon differs between partners by up to 30%, although they live at the same location. The activity contributing most to this difference is transport: Average exposure in transport is 6445 ng m−3, followed by exposure during shopping (2584 ng m−3). Average exposure is lowest while sleeping (1153 ng m−3) and when doing home-based activities (1223 ng m−3). Full-time workers spend almost twice as much time in transport as the homemakers. As a result of the study design we measured in several different homes, shops, cars, etc. enabling a better insight in true overall exposure in those microenvironments. Other factors influencing personal exposure are: background concentrations and location of residence in an urban, suburban or rural environment.

► Personal exposure monitoring with a high temporal resolution.
► Time–activity patterns are a key determinant of personal exposure to air pollution.
► Exposure between partners, living at the same address, can differ by up to 30%.
► Exposure while in transport far exceeds exposure in other microenvironments.
► This research underlines the importance of personal monitoring for health purposes.