Ambient air quality monitoring network design for assessing human health impacts from exposures to airborne contaminants

Existing methods of establishing ambient air quality monitoring networks typically evaluate only parameters related to ambient concentrations of the contaminant(s) of interest such as emission source characteristics, atmospheric transport and dispersion, secondary reactions, deposition characteristics, and local topography. However, adverse health risks from exposures to airborne contaminants are a function of the contaminant and the anatomic and physiologic characteristics of the exposed population. Thus, ambient air quality monitoring networks designed for the protection of public health or for epidemiological studies evaluating adverse health impacts from exposures to ambient air contaminants should account for both contaminant characteristics and human health parameters. A methodology has been established which optimizes ambient air quality monitoring networks for assessments of adverse human health impacts from exposures to airborne contaminants by incorporating human health risk assessment techniques. The use of risk assessment techniques as the basis for designing ambient air quality monitoring networks will help to target limited financial and human resources to evaluate human health risks from exposures to airborne contaminants.