Tobacco Documents Online

Methods for Environmental Tobacco Smoke Measurement The use of carbon monoxide (CO) and total particulate matter as markers for estimating levels of tobacco smoke in public places has received much attention in the current literature on environmental tobacco smoke. Although measurements of CO and particulate matter provide useful information for assessing indoor air quality, they are ill-defined surrogates for tobacco smoke. Measurements using CO or total particulate matter are likely to overestimate contributions of tobacco smoke to indoor environments, because neither is specific to tobacco smoke. Nicotine, on the other hand, is specific to tobacco smoke and, as my colleague William Hinds and I showed in 1975 (attached), can be measured in public places and used as a marker for tobacco smoke. In order to critically assess studies which have used surrogate indices for measuring environmental tobacco smoke, I propose a pilot project designed to define the relationship among the several methods that have been used to measure tobacco smoke in indoor environments. Of particular interest -will be the methods which have employed carbon monoxide, total suspended particulate matter, and nicotine for measurement standards. Specifically, the proposal consists of two parts: A. Baseline comparative data for carbon monoxide, total particulate matter, and nicotine will be determined initially in controlled room studies. A

direct reading, oscillating crystal instrument will be used to monitor total suspended particulate (TSP); a direct reading Ecolyzer (with and without an activated charcoal trap to remove organic vapors) will be used to measure carbon monoxide; and a filter sample (with appropriate treatment) will be employed for nicotine collection. Nicotine samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography using a method described by Dr. Otto Grubner and myself in an 1980 publication (attached). - B. The most important part of this pilot study will involve simultaneous measurements of CO, nicotine, and TSP's in various public places, e.g., offices, restaurants, recreational and travel locations. Using nicotine measurements as principal standards, data on the relative amounts of airborne tobacco smoke indicated by each sampler (for CO and TSPs) will be obtained. Parameters such as room volumes, the number of persons present, the number of active smokers and cigarettes smoked, background levels of C0, nicotine, and TSP's, sampling times, and locations of samplers will be noted. It is expected that the results of these experiments will permit an evaluation of the actual level of tobacco smoke reported in studies which were conducted using CO or total suspended particulate matter as markers for environmental tobacco smoke. ~;~.