NITROGEN-DIOXIDE IN INFANTS BEDROOMS - A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR HOUSEHOLD BASED MEASUREMENTS

To determine the feasibility of postal methods to measure indoor and o utdoor levels of nitrogen dioxide without technical intervention of tr ained staff. Postal distribution of Palmes diffusion tubes to the hous eholder to measure nitrogen dioxide levels inside the baby's bedroom a nd outside homes followed by a questionnaire ascertaining possible sou rces of nitrogen dioxide. Setting: Three health districts in Avon duri ng two weeks in November 1992; 100 women, randomly selected from those with infants 4-6 months of age, currently participating in the Avon L ongitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC). Outcome measure s: Response rate and evidence of understanding and implementation of t he method by the householder; the comparability of results to those ob tained from studies using visits by trained staff, for ratios of nitro gen dioxide outdoors/indoors and in homes with and without a gas cooke r. There was a 91% response rate with all but one family carrying out the measurements successfully. The ratio of outdoor:indoor NO2 levels was similar to that found using other methodology (approximately 2:1). Households with gas cookers had indoor NO2 levels 1.8 times those of households without gas cookers, similar to those reported in the liter ature. This study successfully demonstrates a very efficient method fo r simultaneously obtaining estimates of air pollutant levels on large numbers of homes.