Activity patterns of Californians: Use of and proximity to indoor pollutant sources

The California Air Resources Board funded a statewide survey of activity patterns of Californians over 11 years of age in order to improve the accuracy of exposure assessments for air pollutants. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1762 respondents over the four seasons from fall 1987 through summer 1988. In addition to completing a 24-h recall diary of activities and locations, participants also responded to questions about their use of and proximity to potential pollutant sources. Results are presented regarding time spent by Californians in different activities and locations relevant to pollutant exposure, and their frequency of use of or proximity to pollutant sources including cigarettes, consumer products such as paints and deodorizers, combustion appliances and motor vehicles. The results show that Californians spend, on average, 87% of their time indoors, 7% in enclosed transit and 6% outdoors. At least 62% of the population over 11 years of age and 46% of nonsmokers are near others' tobacco smoke at some time during the day. Potential exposure to different pollutant sources appears to vary among different gender and age groups. For example, women are more likely to use or be near personal care products and household cleaning agents, while men are more likely to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, solvents and paints. Data from this study can be used to reduce significantly the uncertainty associated with risk assessments for many pollutants.