Smog Calculator

This calculator evaluates your cumulative inhalation of pollutants by breaking down your daily routine and environmental concentrations. First, it determines your total air inhaled and distributes it between indoor and outdoor environments based on your daily time allocation:
Air Inhaled Outdoors = Total Air Inhaled * (Time Outdoors / 24)
Air Inhaled Indoors = Total Air Inhaled * (Time Indoors / 24)
Next, it calculates indoor pollutant concentrations using outdoor baselines adjusted by a structural modification factor. Multiplying these volumetric volumes by respective concentrations yields the total BaP mass inhaled. Finally, it divides your total inhaled BaP by the mass found in a standard cigarette mainstream concentration to yield your cigarette equivalence metric.

Imagine you live in a moderately polluted urban center with a total daily inhalation volume of 20 cubic meters of air. You spend 4 hours outdoors and 20 hours indoors. Suppose the outdoor benzo(a)pyrene concentration is 0.5 ng/m3, and your indoor environment features a protective modification factor of 0.4 (reducing outdoor penetration).
1. Outdoor Air Inhaled: 20 m3 * (4 / 24) = 3.33 m3.
2. Indoor Air Inhaled: 20 m3 * (20 / 24) = 16.67 m3.
3. Indoor BaP Concentration: 0.5 ng/m3 * (1 - 0.4) = 0.3 ng/m3.
4. Total BaP Inhaled: (3.33 * 0.5) + (16.67 * 0.3) = 1.665 + 5.001 = 6.666 ng.
5. Cigarette Equivalence: If a standard cigarette mainstream smoke contains 10 ng of BaP, your daily exposure equals roughly 0.67 cigarettes worth of particulate inhalation.

To maximize the accuracy of your ecological assessment, always input localized air quality data rather than national averages, as microclimates and traffic density drastically alter immediate pollutant concentrations. Additionally, remember that indoor air quality is heavily influenced by domestic activities like cooking and heating; account for these variables when estimating your indoor modification modifiers. Finally, use this tool to optimize your daily routine by scheduling outdoor exercise during off-peak traffic hours to minimize particulate inhalation.