Paper: Passenger Vehicle Secondhand Smoke Particulate Measurements
This paper was presented at the 2016 ASHRAE Indoor Air Quality Conference.
Abstract
One in four Minnesota middle school students report that they have ridden in a car with someone who was smoking cigarettes in the preceding week (Minnesota Youth Tobacco and Asthma Survey, 2011), yet only seven U.S. states have policies prohibiting smoking with youth in vehicles. This study expands on previous research by measuring secondhand smoke particulate concentrations under a comprehensive set of conditions that affect passenger exposure. A total of 171 trials were conducted, including duplicate trials to determine reliability. The monitoring included continuous photometer measurements of fine particles (PM2.5) before, during, and after a participant drove and smoked a cigarette. The instruments were installed in 3 to 5 locations inside the vehicle and 1 location outside to measure and compensate for ambient air particulates. The monitoring was conducted for three vehicle types (sedan, minivan, SUV), two driving speeds, four window positions, and multiple ventilation operating conditions over both summer and winter conditions.