National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants: Advances and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1544.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Burnt Exposure Assessment for Airborne Polluicmis Advances and Opportunities Cornmidee on Advances in Assessing Humcrn Exposure to Airbome PoDut~nts Boarc3 on Environments Studies ca ~d Toxicology Comlrussion on Geosciences, Environment, fact Resources Ncrtion~ Resec~ch Council NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. 1991 /

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Aver, N.W. Washington, I).C ~418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Goveming Board of the National Research CounciL whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. Ibe National Academy of Sciences is a private, non-profit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the further- ance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is presi- dent of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autono- mous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Acade- my of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and educa- tion. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in priding services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The project was supported by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Trust Fund through cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Sub- stances and Disease Registry, U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 9~63324 International Standard Book Number ~309 042844 S245 First Printing, November 1990 Second Paining, September 1991 Third Printing, June 1992 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitu- tion Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.G 20418 Printed in the United States of America

Committee on Advances in Assessing Human Exposure to Airborne Pollutants PAUL J. LIOY (Chairman), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Ier= - Robert Wed I:ohr~son Med~ School, Pis~tawa:,r, N] JOAN M. DAISEY, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA NAIHUA DUAN, The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA FRED De HILEMAN, Monsanto Company, St. Louis PHILIP K HOPKE, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY MICHAEL A. JAYJOCK, Rohm & Haas Company, Philadelphia BRIAN P. LEADERER, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven MARSHAL S. LEVINE, NASA, Washington, DC CARL D. PFAFFENBERGER, Department of Environmental Resources Management for Metro Dade County, Miami JOHN P. ROBINSON, University of Maryland, College Park JERRY M. SCHROY, Monsanto Company, St. Louis JOSEPH R. STElTER, Transducer Research, Inc., Naperville, IL CHARLES J. WESCHLER, Bell Communications Research, Red Bank, NJ JEROME J. WESOLOWSKI, California State Department of Health Services, Berkeley Project Staff RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Project Director LEE R. PAULSON, Editor RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Copy Editor ANNE M. SPRAGUE, Information Specialist FELINE S. BUCKNER, Project Secretary . . . UZ

Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology GILBERT S. OMENN (C~nai~man), University of Washington, Seattle FREDERICK R ANDERSON, Washington School of Law, American University JOHN C. BAILER, III, McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal LAWRENCE W. BARNTHoUSE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge CARRY D. BREWER, Yale University, New Haven JOANNA BURGER, Nelson Laboratory, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ YORAM COHEN, University of California, Los Angeles JOHN L. EMMERSON, Lilly Research Laboratories, Greenf~eld, IN ROBERT L. HARNESS, Monsanto Agricultural Company, St. Louis ALFRED G. KNUDSON, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia GENE E. LIKENS, The New York Botanical Garden, Millbrook PAUL J. LIOY, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway JANE LUBCHENCO, Oregon State University, Corvallis DONALD MATIISON, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh NATHANIEL REED, Hobe Sound, FL F. SHERWOOD ROWLAND, University of California, Irvine MILTON RUSSELL, University of Tennessee, Knoxville MARGARET M. SEMINARIO, AFL/CID, Washington, DC I. GLENN SIPES, University of Arizona, Tucson WALTER J. WEBER, JR., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Staff JAMES J. REISA, Director DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Program Director for Natural Resources and Applied Ecology ROBERT B. SMOTE, Program Director for Exposure Assessment and Risk Reduction RICHARD D. THOMAS, Program Director for Human Toxicology and Risk Assessment LEE R PAULSON, Manager, Toxicology Information Center IV

Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources M. GORDON WOLMAN (Chairman), The Johns Hopes University ROBERT C. BEARDSLEY, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution B. CLARK BURCHFIEL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge ~PH J. CICE:~ONE, University <of Conic, I - ine PETER S. EAGLESON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge HELEN INGRAM, Udal1 Center for Public Policy Studies, Tucson GENE E. LIKENS, New York Botanical Gardens, Millbrook SYUKURO MANABE, Geophysics Fluid Dynamics Lab, NOAA, Princeton JACK E. OLIVER, Cornell University, Ithaca PHILIP A. PALMER, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Newark, DE FRANK L PARKER, Vanderbilt University, Nashville DUNCAN T. PAT ION, Arizona State University, Tempe MAXINE L. SAVlTZ, ABied Sisal Aerospace, Torrance, CA I^RRY L. SMART, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign STEVEN M. STANLEY, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland SIR CRISPIN TICKELL, United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations KARL K TUREKLAN, Yale University, New Haven IRVIN L. WHITE, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Albany JAMES H. ZUMBERGE, University of Southern California, Los Waggles Staff STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director JANICE E. GREENE, Assistant Executive Director JEANErIE A. SPOON, Financial Officer CARLITA PERRY, Administrative Assistant This study was begun under the Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources, whose members are listed in Appendix C, and completed under the successor Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources. v

Preface Exposure assessment has been integrated into attempts by governmental agencies and other organizations to examine the contact of an individual or population with contaminants released in environmental media. As part of its attempts to understand better human exposures to hazardous substances, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) sponsored this study of advances in assessing exposure to airborne contaminants. Numerous techniques have evolved concurrently to qualitatively and quanti- tatively establish exposure profiles. In industrial hygiene practice, assessments of worker exposure during a work shin have been conducted for many years In attempts to comply with guidelines or standards. The techniques industrial hygienists have used are now being refined and introduced with other new ad- vanced techniques to study the community environment, where contaminant concentrations are usually much lower than those observed in the workplace. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a starting point from which exposure assessors can consider the priorities among environmen- tal media or contaminants as it develops guidelines for conducting exposure assessment for use in risk assessment. An important point made by EPA is the need to develop exposure-assessment strategies a need identified by scientists who are developing programs on human exposure. As evidenced by the EPA guidelines and by engineers and scientists in the field, awareness is increasing of basic principles that place exposure assess- ment prominently within a continuum, starting with an emission from a con- taminant source to the occurrence of subcellular changes and an expression of a biological effect within an exposed individual. The awareness provides an opportunity to link exposure assessment with the practical application of risk reduction and exposure-mitigation strategies. In the context of the present report, the committee focussed on human exposure to contaminants that can be inhaled and potentially cause an adverse health or nuisance effect. The committee did not cover air contaminants . . V11

viii PREFACE transferred to other media or other routes of entry into the body. The report emphasizes that inhalation must be placed in the context of total exposure assessment, which requires consideration of all pertinent environmental media and all routes of entry into the body. The committee addressed the specific points in the charge from ATSDR and placed exposure assessment in the context of an evolving scientific disci- pline within the scope of environmental health. The committee used its judg- ment in choosing the amount of attention given ire the report to specific expo- sure-assessment methods. It considered numerous techniques, which are in different states of development and have different extents of application. The committee also critically analyzed specific case studies of exposure as ~ sessment. The studies are in different stages of completion or design, but each point to areas of achievement or need for continued research. The committee was not charged with providing, nor does it provide, a "how to" man- ual on exposure assessment, or an encyclopedic accounting of all the impor- tant contaminants and the best technique for assessing exposures to those specific contaminants. The committee's efforts were facilitated by an information-gathering work- shop hosted by the John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale University, October 19-20, 1988. Individuals who also assisted our efforts were Fredrica Perera (Colum- bia University), Paul Schulte (National Institute for Occupational Satcty and Health), and Bruce Stuart (Brookhaven National Laboratory) who contributed to Chapter 4; Devra Davis (National Research Council) who contributed to the lead case study; Demetrios Moschandreas (Illinois Institute of Technology) and Lance Wallace (EPA), who contributed information for the VOC case study; and Timothy Larson (Washington University), who contributed to the acidic particulate matter case study; and Barry Ryan (Harvard University), who provided details on NO2 exposure. We are indebted to Karen Hulebak (Environ Corp.), who was the original program director of this project, for many insights and comments during the development of the report. We wish to give special thanks to Raymond Wassel, project director, who guided the report through the review process, provided valuable comments, and diligently ensured that the document was complete. Others of the BEST staff who contributed to the effort are James Reisa, director; Robert Smythe, program director; Lee Paulson and Norman Grossblatt, editors; and Felita Buckner and Sharon Smith, project secretaries. Paul J. Lioy Chairman 6 November 1990

Con ten is EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 PRINCIPLES OF EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT Introduction, 17 Background, 19 Exposure Assessment in Environmental Epidemiology, 23 Exposure Assessment in Occupational Epidemiology and Risk Management, 26 Conceptual Framework for Human Exposure Assessment, 26 Types of Studies, 30 Summary, 35 2 FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING EXPOSURES TO AIR CONTAMINANTS Introduction, 37 Mathematical Relationships, 39 Measurement and Estimation Techniques Employed in Exposure Assessment, 42 Direct Measures of Exposure, 42 Indirect Measures of Exposure, 46 Mitigation Measures, 49 Integration of Exposure-Assessment Techniques, 50 Summary, 51 1 17 37 3 SAMPLING AND PHYSICALCHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS 53 Introduction, 53 LX

x CONTENTS Quality Assurance, 55 Errors, 55 Site-Selection Errors, 57 Collection Errors, 57 Analytical Errors' ~ Data-Handlirlg Errors, 59 Airborne Analytes, 60 Criteria for Method Selection, 62 Sensitivity, 62 Selectivity, 64 Rapidity, 65 Comprehensiveness, 65 Portability, 66 Cost, 66 Metholodology, 68 The Measurement Process, 68 Sampling, 69 Separation, 75 Detection, 86 Microsensors, 99 Electron Microscopy, 101 Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, 103 Radon and Radon Progeny Measurements, 104 Chemometrics, 107 Summary, laS Quality Control/Quality Assurance, 108 Sampling Techniques and Strategy, 109 Instrumental Techniques, 110 Field-Study Instruments, 113 4 USE OF BIOLOGICAL MARKERS IN ASSESSING HUMAN EXPOSURE TO AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS 115 Introduction, 115 Prom Exposure to Health Effects: Kinds of Markers, 116 Applications of Human Biological Markers, 120 Markers of Exposure, 120 Markers of Effect, 122 Utility of Biological Markers, 126

CONTENTS xz Advantages, 126 Disadvantages and Limitations, 129 Criteria Governing the Validation and Use of Biological Markers, 134 Validation and Selection of Biological Markers, 135 Study Design, 139 Analysis, 140 Ethical Issues, 141 Summary, 141 Sit RESEARCH METHODS AND EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT Introduction, 143 Sample Selection, 147 Target Population, 148 Response Rate, 149 Sampling Error, 150 Other Features, 151 Measurement Approaches, 151 Direct Approach, 152 Indirect Approach, 153 Integrating Personal-Monitor and Diary Information, 157 Questionnaire Approach, 159 Questionnaire Framing and Wording, 160 Improving Survey Questions, 163 Incorporating Survey-Research Methods into Exposure Assessment, 164 Summary, 165 6 MODELS Introduction, 169 Important Model Characteristics, 173 Concentration Models, 174 Outdoor Models~ontaminant Source Emissions, 174 Validation, 176 Contaminant Dispersion, 176 Atmospheric Chemistry, 179 Receptor Models, 181 Indoor Contaminant Concentrations, 184 143 169

xii CONTENTS Industrial Environments, 184 Nonindustrial Environments, 188 Variability in Emission Rates, 191 Mr~nug Within and Between Rooms, 192 Deposition, 193 Air CleaniT g, 194 Recent Advances, 195 Exposure-Assessment Models, 197 Individual Exposures, 197 Population Exposures, 199 Temporal Aspects, 201 Summary, 202 Concentration Models, 203 Exposure Models, 205 Source Models, 205 Validation, 206 7 CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED APPLICATIONS Introduction, 207 Volatile Organic Compounds, 2a8 Introduction, 208 Current Approaches to Exposure Assessment Under the Clear Air Act, 208 Total Exposure-Assessment Methodology Study, 209 Benzene, 212 Recommendations, 214 Environmental Tobacco Smoke, 215 Introduction, 215 Air-Contaminant Measurement, 216 Biological Markers, 217 Questionnaires, 217 Future Applications, 218 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, 218 Introduction, 218 Hypothesis and Study Design, 2= Measurement Methods, X Biological Markers, 224 Questionnaires, 225 Models, 225 Future Needs, =5 207

CONTENTS X7lt Lead, ;126 Introduction, 226 Lead from Gasoline, 278 Airborne Lead from Stationary Sources, 228 Ad In Dust and Soils, 231 Outdoor-Air Measurements, =2 Biological Markers, =2 Questionna~resj~3 Models, 233 Conclusions, =3 Acidic Particulate Matter, 236 Introduction, 236 Hypothesis, =7 Measurements, 237 Methods, 238 Conclusions, 239 Sick-Building Syndrome, 240 Introduction, 240 Hypothesis and Study Design, 243 Measurement Techniques (Analytical and Sampling), 243 Biological Markers, 244 Questionnaires, 245 Models, 246 Conclusions, 246 Toxics Release Inventory, 246 Introduction, 246 Applications to Exposure Assessment, 247 Implications, 249 Radon, 249 Introduction, 249 Hypothesis and Study Design, 251 Measurement Methods, 253 Models, 253 Advances, 254 GLOSSARY REFERENCES APPENDIX A: BASIC STANDARD ENVIRONMENTAL INVENTORY QUESTIONNAIRE 257 259 311

xiv CONTENTS APPENDIX B: EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP PARTICIPLES ED P"SE=ATIONS APPENDIX C: COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATlIEMATICS, ED "SOURCES 317 321

Tables and Figures TABLE 3.} Spatial Considerations: Summary of Sampling Designs and Men They are Most Useful, 56 TAB" 3~ Analytical Method Selection, 63 TABLE 3~ Status of Personal Monitor Development, 67 TABS SA Microsensors Potentially Applicable to Airborne Contaminants, 1 TABLE 35 Summary of Attributes of Different Measurement Techniques, 111 TABLE S. ~ Methodological Factors in E~osure-Assessment Surveys, 145 TAME ~ Categories of Estimation Methods for Children Exposed to Lead by Source, 234 FIGURE ~ Elements of human exposure Ad their relationship to the process of risk assessment and risk management, 6 PIGURB I.] Time fine of health outcomes and measures of exposure for out- door-air-pollution epidemiology, 24 PIGURB ~ ~ Contaminants sources and effects continuum, D FIGURE A] Possible approaches for analysis of air contaminant exposures, 43 FIGURE 3.1 Steps in the measurement process, 69 AGUE 4.] Ends of biological markers, 117 AGUE 6.] Schematic diagram of models used in exposure assessment, lye EfGU;~ 7.] Benzene emissions versus closures, 213 GUM Gasoline lead emissions and outdoor lead concentrations, 1975- 1984, 229 AGUE 73 Parallel decreases in blood lead values observed in the NHANES IT and amounts of lead used in gasoline during 1976-1980, ~0 xv

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Most people in the United States spend far more time indoors than outdoors. Yet, many air pollution regulations and risk assessments focus on outdoor air. These often overlook contact with harmful contaminants that may be at their most dangerous concentrations indoors.

A new book from the National Research Council explores the need for strategies to address indoor and outdoor exposures and examines the methods and tools available for finding out where and when significant exposures occur.

The volume includes:

  • A conceptual framework and common terminology that investigators from different disciplines can use to make more accurate assessments of human exposure to airborne contaminants.
  • An update of important developments in assessing exposure to airborne contaminants: ambient air sampling and physical chemical measurements, biological markers, questionnaires, time-activity diaries, and modeling.
  • A series of examples of how exposure assessments have been applied—properly and improperly—to public health issues and how the committee's suggested framework can be brought into practice.

This volume will provide important insights to improve risk assessment, risk management, pollution control, and regulatory programs.

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