Abstract
Vapor intrusion (IV) exposure risks are difficult to characterize due to the role of atmospheric, building and subsurface processes. This study presents a three-dimensional VI model that extends the common subsurface fate and transport equations to incorporate wind and stack effects on indoor air pressure, building air exchange rate (AER) and indoor contaminant concentration to improve VI exposure risk estimates. The model incorporates three modeling programs: (1) COMSOL Multiphysics to model subsurface fate and transport processes, (2) CFD0 to model atmospheric air flow around the building, and (3) CONTAM to model indoor air quality. The combined VI model predicts AER values, zonal indoor air pressures and zonal indoor air contaminant concentrations as a function of wind speed, wind direction and outdoor and indoor temperature. Steady state modeling results for a single-story building with a basement demonstrate that wind speed, wind direction and opening locations in a building play important roles in changing the AER, indoor air pressure, and indoor air contaminant concentration. Calculated indoor air pressures ranged from approximately −10 Pa to +4 Pa depending on weather conditions and building characteristics. AER values, mass entry rates and indoor air concentrations vary depending on weather conditions and building characteristics. The presented modeling approach can be used to investigate the relationship between building features, AER, building pressures, soil gas concentrations, indoor air concentrations and VI exposure risks.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2017
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EM00423K
Funding Information
The project described was supported by University of Kentucky Superfund Research Program from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [Grant Number P42ES007380] and by the National Science Foundation [Grant Number 1452800].
Related Content
Refer to Web version on PubMed Central for supplementary material.
Repository Citation
Shirazi, Elham and Pennell, Kelly G., "Three-Dimensional Vapor Intrusion Modeling Approach that Combines Wind and Stack Effects on Indoor, Atmospheric, and Subsurface Domains" (2017). Civil Engineering Faculty Publications. 14.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ce_facpub/14
Graphical Abstract
NIHMS925178-supplement-Significance_Statement.docx (14 kB)
Significance Statement
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, v. 19, issue 12, p. 1594-1607.
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017
The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.
The document available for download is the authors' post-peer-review final draft of the article.