Center for Energy and Environment, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Indoor Air. 2011 Feb;21(1):36-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00680.x.
Surveys suggest that transfer of secondhand smoke (SHS) between units in multiunit residential buildings is common, but measured data are rare. This study was undertaken to quantify bulk air transfer between units and document transfer of SHS species before and after treatments that sealed boundaries between units and provided a minimum amount of continuous exhaust ventilation of each unit. Six buildings in Minnesota were studied. Treatments were performed in clusters of up to eight units in each building, including zero to two units occupied by smokers. Bulk air transfer was quantified through passive perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) gas tests. SHS transfer was evaluated using passive nicotine sampling. The median fraction of air entering a unit that came from other units tagged with PFTs ranged from 0.021 in a new condominium building to 0.353 in a 1930s duplex, with an overall median of 0.041. Treatments provided a median decrease of 29% in the fraction of transferred air and reduced PFT concentrations by about 40%, because of increased ventilation of both source and target apartments. Nicotine was transferred at only one-sixth the rate of PFTs. Involuntary exposure to SHS can be reduced but not eliminated by modifying existing, occupied multiunit buildings.
Recent studies of secondhand smoke exposure in multiunit housing indicate transmission of SHS constituents from smokers' units to those occupied by nonsmokers. A straightforward solution for this problem is to eliminate air leakage transfer between these units. This study describes a 2-year investigation of air sealing and ventilation improvements in six multiunit buildings located in a heating-dominated climate region of the US. The results quantify the reduction in interunit transfer of air between smokers' and nonsmokers' units. While it is possible to reduce the transfer when done with care, it is extremely difficult to eliminate these flows unless the buildings are vacated and extensively rebuilt. Eliminating air leakage between smokers' and nonsmokers' units is not a practical means of solving SHS transmission in an existing building.
调查表明，二手烟（SHS）在多单元住宅建筑中的单元之间转移很常见，但很少有实测数据。本研究旨在量化单元之间的空气总转移，并记录在密封单元之间边界以及为每个单元提供最小量连续排气通风的处理前后 SHS 物质的转移。在明尼苏达州的六栋建筑中进行了研究。在每个建筑物中最多有八个单元的集群中进行了处理，包括零到两个由吸烟者居住的单元。通过被动全氟碳示踪剂（PFT）气体测试来量化空气总转移。通过被动尼古丁采样评估 SHS 转移。进入标记有 PFT 的其他单元的空气进入单元的中位数分数范围从新公寓楼的 0.021 到 20 世纪 30 年代的双联式住宅的 0.353，中位数总体为 0.041。由于源和目标公寓的通风量增加，处理使转移空气的中位数分数降低了 29%，并使 PFT 浓度降低了约 40%。尼古丁的转移速度仅是 PFT 的六分之一。通过修改现有居住的多单元建筑，可以减少但不能消除对 SHS 的非自愿暴露。
最近对多单元住房中二手烟暴露的研究表明，SHS 成分从吸烟者单元传播到非吸烟者单元。解决此问题的一个简单方法是消除这些单元之间的空气泄漏转移。本研究描述了对位于美国采暖主导气候区的六栋多单元建筑进行空气密封和通风改进的为期两年的研究。结果量化了吸烟者单元和非吸烟者单元之间空气的单元间转移减少。虽然谨慎处理可以减少转移，但除非建筑物腾空并进行广泛重建，否则极难消除这些气流。在现有建筑物中，消除吸烟者单元和非吸烟者单元之间的空气泄漏不是解决 SHS 传播的实际手段。
