Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40547276›Full record

ArticleAtmosphere2025

Impact of Multiple HVAC Systems on Indoor Air VOC and Radon Concentrations from Vapor Intrusion During Seasonal Usage.

John H Zimmerman, Alan Williams, Brian Schumacher, Christopher Lutes, Rohit Warrier, Brian Cosky, Ben Thompson, Chase W Holton, Kate Bronstein

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Atmosphere, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

John H ZimmermanOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 109 TW Alexander Dr., P.O. Box 12055, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27711, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0909-0079
Alan WilliamsOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 109 TW Alexander Dr., P.O. Box 12055, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27711, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9078-179X
Brian SchumacherOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 960 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30605, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8202-2630
Christopher LutesJacobs, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75201, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5546-2649
Rohit WarrierGSI Environmental Inc., 13949 W. Colfax, No. 210, Lakewood, CO 80401, USA.
Brian CoskyJacobs, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75201, USA.
Ben ThompsonJacobs, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75201, USA.
Chase W HoltonRTI International, 3040 E. Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA.
Kate BronsteinGSI Environmental Inc., 13949 W. Colfax, No. 210, Lakewood, CO 80401, USA.

Funding

EPA EP-C-16-016Intramural EPA EPA999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Subsurface contamination can migrate upward into overlying buildings, exposing the buildings' inhabitants to contaminants that can cause detrimental health effects. This phenomenon is known as vapor intrusion (VI). When evaluating a building for VI, one must understand that seasonal and short-term variability are significant factors in determining the reasonable maximum exposure (RME) to the occupants. RME is a semi-quantitative term that refers to the lower portion of the high end of the exposure distribution-conceptually, above the 90th percentile exposure but less than the 98th percentile exposure. Samples were collected between December 2020 and April 2022 at six non-residential commercial buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska. The types of samples collected included indoor air (IA); outdoor air; subslab soil gas; soil gas; indoor radon; differential pressure; indoor and outdoor temperature; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) parameters; and other environmental factors. The buildings in close proximity to the volatile organic compound (VOC) source/release points presented less variability in indoor air concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) compared to the buildings farther down gradient in the contaminated groundwater plume. The VOC data pattern for the source area buildings shows an outdoor air temperature-dominated behavior for indoor air concentrations in the summer season. HVAC system operations had less influence on long-term indoor air concentration trends than environmental factors, which is supported by similar indoor air concentration patterns independent of location within the plume. The use of soil temperature and indoor/outdoor temperatures as indicators and tracers (I&Ts) across the plume as predictors of the sampling period could produce a good estimation of the RME for the building occupants. These results, which show the use of soil temperature and indoor/outdoor temperatures as I&Ts, will help advance investigative methods for evaluation of VI in similar settings and thereby improve the protection of human health in indoor environments.

Indexed as

indicators and tracerspassive samplingreasonable maximum exposuresubslab soil gasvapor intrusionvolatile organic compounds

Identifiers

PMID40547276
PMCPMC12180761

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.