Particle Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (PTEAM) 1990 study: method performance and data quality for personal, indoor, and outdoor monitoring.

The Particle Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (PTEAM) study provided the opportunity to test methodologies for measuring personal and microenvironmental PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in a full-scale probability-based sample of 178 persons and homes in Riverside, California during the fall of 1990. The purpose of the study was to estimate frequency distributions of exposure to PM10, PM2.5, and selected elements in an urban population. Quality control samples and analyses were used to evaluate method performance. These included collocated sample collection, field and lab blank filters, sampler and balance field audits, and intra- and interlaboratory replicate elemental analyses. A portion of the study was also designed to include side-by-side operation of the personal and microenvironmental samplers with reference method (high-volume and dichotomous) samplers to provide an evaluation of method comparability. Over 95% of the approximately 2,900 scheduled samples were collected and analyzed, with very few losses due to equipment failure. The method limit of detection for the personal and microenvironmental monitor PM10 sampling was 8 micrograms/m3. Mean relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2% to 8% were obtained for collocated personal and microenvironmental samples. Sampler flow rates were within the +/- 10% accuracy criterion during two field audits. Balances operated in a specially designed mobile laboratory were within specified tolerances for precision (+/- 4 micrograms) and accuracy (+/- 50 micrograms). Elemental analysis accuracy was measured with standard reference materials with biases ranging from 2% to 7%. Measurement precision for most elements ranged from 2.5% to 25% mean RSD. Personal and microenvironmental samplers gave median PM10 concentrations that were approximately 9% higher than the dichotomous sampler and 16% higher than the high-volume sampler across 96 monitoring periods at a fixed outdoor location.