particulate matter Archives

Indoor particulate matter: source characterization, concentrations, and exposures

By Sameer Patel (Vance Group, University of Colorado Boulder) (Twitter: @Sameer_IAQ) Particulate matter (PM), also being referred to as particles and aerosols, are present in the air we breathe in different microenvironments, including indoors and outdoors. The sum of all PM we inhale in different microenvironments constitutes our total PM inhalation exposure. To identify […]

Indoor Particulate Matter And How to Limit Your Exposure

By Julia Bakker-Arkema and Marina Vance. This video was entered in the 2019 AAAR conference video competition and won 1st prize! Congratulations to Julia and Nina. We see and experience particulate matter, or aerosol particles, all around us. Aerosol particles make up the smog we see on our morning commutes, the trails of smoke that rise […]

Ozone: Friend or Foe?

By Julia Bakker-Arkema and Marina Vance. When we think of “ozone”, many of us think about the hole in the ozone layer, located high up in the stratosphere—about 12 kilometers, or 7 miles above the earth’s surface. It’s much higher than Mount Everest and most types of clouds. The ozone layer is important because […]

What I learned from the 1st ISIAQ webinar on spread of infectious diseases in indoor environments

By Shelly Miller, Professor at University of Colorado Boulder. On Twitter: @ShellyMBoulder ISIAQ, the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate is an international, independent, multidisciplinary, scientific, non-profit organization “whose purpose is to support the creation of healthy, comfortable and productive indoor environments.” The ISIAQ Board of Directors and The Academy of Fellows are hosting […]

What you wear affects what you breathe

By Dusan Licina (EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne,@licinadusan), Glenn Morison (University of North Carolina, @gcmorr), Gabriel Bekö (Denmark Technical University) Charles Weschler (Denmark Technical University and Rutgers University,@CJWeschler) and William Nazaroff (University of California Berkeley) Take a couple of seconds to think about how much time we spend every day wearing […]

Total observed organic carbon indoors

Derek found that the total organic carbon concentration was impressively large, three times higher than what you’d find in a typical American city and ten times higher than clean ocean air. He also found that the compounds in the museum were significantly fresher – less oxidized – than those in outdoor air.

An artist who makes clouds. Indoors!

Mr. Smilde’ art is short-lived, just like many oxidants and volatile organic compounds indoors. It can last a few seconds, and then the cloud is gone. He may need to make hundreds of clouds for one photo finish, just like chemists make hundreds (thousands?) of measurements for one manuscript. Indeed, Mr. Smilde’s visual art work resembles a scientific experiment.

New particle formation in the indoor environment

The presence of particles suspended in air is associated with negative health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular issues. While some particles are emitted directly to the air from a source, such as from combustion, formation of new particles through atmospheric chemical reactions is less obvious to the casual citizen.

3D printers and air pollution

Breathing in these large amounts of very small particles may lead to effects in our respiratory system. These particles are so small that they can cross over to the blood stream and reach other organs.

IndoorChem