About the Seminar:

Indoor ozone chemistry generates a broad range of oxidized products. A surrogate of indoor exposure to ozone reaction products, “ozone loss”, has recently been shown to correlate strongly with cardiorespiratory pathophysiology, especially at elevated indoor PM concentrations. Among indoor ozone reaction products are reactive oxygen species (ROS), a chemical class linked to the onset of diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Our group has been exploring indoor ROS through modeling, laboratory studies and field research. We are interested in the potential for indoor surfaces to be a substantial source of ROS present in indoor PM. We hypothesize that when ozone reacts with soiled indoor surfaces soiled, relatively stable forms of ROS are generated. Some of this ROS has just the right volatility to partition from those surfaces to suspended particles, which can then be inhaled.  Our studies are showing that ROS is indeed forming at substantial yields with unsaturated lipid mixtures typical of surface films, ROS is elevated on real surfaces in occupied homes, and ROS can partition from these surfaces through air to other films and particles. We believe that the general mechanism of ozone surface chemistry and subsequent partitioning of products to respirable particulate matter may be an important contributor to the long-observed health effects of ambient ozone and PM2.5.

About the Speaker: 

Glenn Morrison is a professor of Environmental Science & Engineering at the University of North Carolina and has been studying indoor and outdoor air pollution and human exposure for more than 30 years. He received his PhD from Berkeley, and his research has primarily been related to indoor physics and chemistry. He has a particular interest in interfacial chemistry, having also worked as a chemical engineer on heterogeneous catalysis. This research has included ozone-surface chemistry, acid-base chemistry and its role in adsorption of chemicals to indoor surfaces, methamphetamine contamination in buildings, aerosol-SVOC modeling and field measurements of reactive oxygen species in homes. In recent years, he has focused how clothing controls dermal uptake of indoor contaminants. From 2014-2016 he was the President of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) and is currently an associate editor of Indoor Environments.