ISES2009 Poster Abstract: Exposure of Finnish subpopulations to fine particles due domestic wood combustion
Abstract
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Exposure of Finnish subpopulations to fine particles due to domestic wood combustion
Authors: Ahtoniemi P.1,2, Tainio M. 1,3, Karvosenoja N. 4, Kupiainen K. 4, Porvari P. 4, Karppinen A. 5, Kangas L. 5, Kukkonen J. 5, Pohjola M. 1, Tuomisto J.T. 1.
1National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Environmental Health, P.O.Box 95, FI-70701 Kuopio, Finland
2University of Kuopio, School of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition
3Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences
4Finnish Environment Institute
5Finnish Meteorological Institute
Many previous studies have shown that primary PM2.5 (fine particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) causes several serious health effects, e.g. cardiopulmonary diseases and mortality. In Finland domestic wood combustion is one of the most important PM2.5 emission sources. In this study we estimated exposure to domestic wood combustion PM2.5 emissions for different subpopulations by using a GIS based method. The PM2.5 emission data of Finnish sources for year 2000 was based on the Finnish Regional Emission Scenario (FRES) model and the dispersion of pollutants was based on the urban dispersion modeling system (UDM-FMI). The population data used in assessment was based on Statistics Finland Grid Database. In this study age and education subpopulations were considered separately. Exposures of each subpopulation were estimated with spatial population differences comparing concentration categories to population levels. Average exposure was estimated to vary between 0.5 to 0.6 µg/m3 in different subpopulations. The subpopulation with highest education and the subpopulation of young adults were most exposed. These subpopulations had higher population densities near the areas where secondary house heating by wood combustion was most common. Variation of exposures between subpopulations in contrast to average exposure to PM2.5 from all sources was relatively small. The significance of the observed exposure differences can be explored with more detailed analyses, including uncertainty analysis.