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Contribution of the in-vehicle microenvironment to individual ambient-source nitrogen dioxide exposure: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 28, pages 371–380 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Exposure estimates that do not account for time in-transit may underestimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution, but exact contributions have not been studied directly. We conducted a 2-week monitoring, including novel in-vehicle sampling, in a subset of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution cohort in two cities. Participants spent the majority of their time indoors and only 4.4% of their time (63 min/day) in-vehicle, on average. The mean ambient-source NO2 concentration was 5.1 ppb indoors and 32.3 ppb in-vehicle during drives. On average, indoor exposure contributed 69% and in-vehicle exposure contributed 24% of participants’ ambient-source NO2 exposure. For participants in the highest quartile of time in-vehicle (≥1.3 h/day), indoor and in-vehicle contributions were 60 and 31%, respectively. Incorporating infiltrated indoor and measured in-vehicle NO2 produced exposure estimates 5.6 ppb lower, on average, than using only outdoor concentrations. The indoor microenvironment accounted for the largest proportion of ambient-source exposure in this older population, despite higher concentrations of NO2 outdoors and in vehicles than indoors. In-vehicle exposure was more influential among participants who drove the most and for participants residing in areas with lower outdoor air pollution. Failure to characterize exposures in these microenvironments may contribute to exposure misclassification in epidemiologic studies.

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Acknowledgements

This publication was developed under a STAR research assistance agreement, No. RD831697 (MESA Air), and RD83479601-01 (UW CCAR), awarded by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and NIH NIEHS R01ES023500 (SPIROMICS Air). It has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and the EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Marnie F. Hazlehurst, Elizabeth W. Spalt, Tyler P. Nicholas, Mark E. Davey, Sverre Vedal & Joel D. Kaufman

  2. Department of Community and Environmental Health, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA

    Cynthia L. Curl

  3. Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Gregory L. Burke

  4. Department of Medicine/Cardiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Karol E. Watson

  5. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joel D. Kaufman

  6. Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joel D. Kaufman

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Hazlehurst, M.F., Spalt, E.W., Nicholas, T.P. et al. Contribution of the in-vehicle microenvironment to individual ambient-source nitrogen dioxide exposure: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 28, 371–380 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0025-1

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