Temporal variations in particulate exposure to wood smoke in a residential school environment

Much research has examined associations between particulate pollution and health. The majority of this research has focused on outdoor air. Yet it is known that people spend most of their time indoors. This research has examined concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 inside and outside of a boarding school in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is a city with a known wintertime particulate pollution problem as a result of burning wood for domestic heating. Data were collected over the winter of 2004 (May–September) using TEOM and GRIMM dust analysers. Results show that there is a close relationship between the fine fraction (PM2.5 and PM1) of indoor and outdoor particles. However, the activities of the building occupants resulted in the resuspension of coarse particulate fractions resulting in weaker indoor–outdoor relationships for PM10.