Seasonal Variations and Indoor-Outdoor Characteristics of Fluorescent Aerosol Particles in Japanese Office Buildings.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Fluorescent aerosol particles (FAPs) are widely used as a real-time proxy for primary biological aerosol particles; however, their seasonal characteristics and size-resolved distributions in office environments remain poorly understood. In this study, FAPs were measured in ten office spaces located in four distinct regions of Japan during summer and winter using a real-time Bioaerosol Sensor. Indoor and outdoor FAP concentrations, indoor/outdoor ratios, and the size-resolved FAP fraction were evaluated. Indoor FAP concentrations were generally below 100 particles per liter (p/L), although peak concentrations of 140 p/L in summer and 195 p/L in winter were observed. Significant seasonal differences were detected in most offices, with several buildings showing higher concentrations in winter. Many offices exhibited relative humidity levels below 40% during winter, suggesting that dry indoor conditions may have promoted particle resuspension and contributed to elevated FAP concentrations. Indoor-outdoor comparisons suggested contributions from both indoor sources and outdoor infiltration. The size-resolved FAP fraction increased markedly with particle size, with median indoor values reaching 40-74% for 2.0-5.0 μm particles and 96-100% for particles > 5.0 μm. These findings indicate that FAPs in office environments are strongly associated with coarse particles and exhibit substantial seasonal and building-dependent variability.