Literatur Review and Parametric Study: Indoor Particle Resuspension by Human Activity

Once an aerosol contaminant is introduced into an indoor environment, it can remain in the air, deposit on interior surfaces or attach to dust particles already present. Human activity, such as walking and cleaning, resuspends contaminated particles, regenerating airborne contaminants. This report is a literature review on the effects of human activity on particle re-suspension in indoor environment. A parametric investigation is also made on particle resuspension effects of potential mechanical, aerodynamic and electrostatic force components, due to human activity over the particle-containing reservoir. It is shown that combinations of mechanical-aero-electro forces from human activity, can lead to significant particle resuspension in indoor environment. Additional experimental and modeling work is recommended to quantify the influence of human activity on indoor particle resuspension. INDEX TERMS Resuspension, human activity, mechanical vibration, boundary drag force, electrostatic force INTRODUCTION Human beings spend most of their lifetime in indoor environments. Studies (Wallace 1996) have shown that personal exposure to micron-sized particulate matter (PM) is related to these environments. Human activity resuspends particulate contaminants from indoor reservoir surfaces. Aerosol concentrations from resuspension are generally much lower than those from direct release of aerosols; but due to the persistence of the contaminants in indoor environments and the continuous human activity disturbance, long term exposure to the resuspended contaminants can cause considerable human health effects. However, there is no generalized relationship between specific human activity and particle resuspension levels. This review examines the literature relating indoor human activity with indoor particle resuspension. From the literature, it appears that resuspension forces contain three major