| The Harvard Southern California Chronic Ozone Exposure Study: Assessing Ozone Exposure of Grade-School-Age Children in Two Southern California Communities Alison S. Geyh,1 Jianping Xue,2 Halûk Özkaynak,3 and John D. Spengler4 1Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
2Genetics Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
3U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
4Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Abstract
The Harvard Southern California Chronic Ozone Exposure Study measured personal exposure to, and indoor and outdoor ozone concentrations of, approximately 200 elementary school children 6-12 years of age for 12 months (June 1995-May 1996) . We selected two Southern California communities, Upland and several towns located in the San Bernardino mountains, because certain characteristics of those communities were believed to affect personal exposures. On 6 consecutive days during each study month, participant homes were monitored for indoor and outdoor ozone concentrations, and participating children wore a small passive ozone sampler to measure personal exposure. During each sampling period, the children recorded time-location-activity information in a diary. Ambient ozone concentration data were obtained from air quality monitoring stations in the study areas. We present ozone concentration data for the ozone season (June-September 1995 and May 1996) and the nonozone season (October 1995-April 1996) . During the ozone season, outdoor and indoor concentrations and personal exposure averaged 48.2, 11.8, and 18.8 ppb in Upland and 60.1, 21.4, and 25.4 ppb in the mountain towns, respectively. During the nonozone season, outdoor and indoor concentrations and personal exposure averaged 21.1, 3.2, and 6.2 ppb in Upland, and 35.7, 2.8, and 5.7 ppb in the mountain towns, respectively. Personal exposure differed by community and sex, but not by age group. Key words: children, chronic, exposure, ozone, personal, sampler, Southern California. Environ Health Perspect 108:265-270 (2000) . [Online 4 February 2000] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108p265-270geyh/ abstract.html Address correspondence to J.D. Spengler, Harvard University School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Room 1305, Boston, MA 02115-6021 USA. Telephone: (617) 432-1255. Fax: (617) 432-4122. E-mail: spengler@hsph.harvard.edu We thank A. Fox, L. Sanchez, C. Bench, L. Kole, N. Scopen, M. Simun, M. Palmer-Rhea, D. Belliveau, D. Burlow, and J. Arnold. We also thank the University of Southern California Department of Preventive Medicine. Most importantly we thank the children and their families for their participation and hard work ; without them this study could not have succeeded. This work was supported by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant R01-ES06370 at the Harvard School of Public Health. Received 11 May 1999 ; accepted 21 September 1999.
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