The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): A resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants Page: 28 of 41
This article is part of the collection entitled: Office of Scientific & Technical Information Technical Reports and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
NHAPS-CAPS Comparison
NHAPS-CA-AD/YTH
(total n=805)
CAPS - AD/YTH
(total n=1762)
E In a Residence
E Office-Factory
E Bar-Restaurant
E Other Indoor
U In a Vehicle
Q Outdoors
NHAPS-CA-CH
(total n=125)
CAPS-CH
(total n=1200)Percentage of Time Spent for Adults and Youth (12 and older)
-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage of Time Spent (%)
Percentage of Time Spent for Children (Under 12)
-
-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage of Time Spent (%)Figure 6: Comparison of the weighted percentage of time spent and time spent with a smoker in each of six
locations for adult/youth and child NHAPS respondents and for adult/youth and child CAPS respondents.
The children are under age 12. Both samples cover the entire state of California. See Tables 8 and 9 for the
total number of doers in each location. Please see the text for a discussion of SRP-SERD biases inherent in
the NHAPS data base with respect to the time respondents reported spending with a smoker.
Differences are larger for comparisons of percentage doers and doer mean for the time spent with a smoker
(Table 11), but the statistics are still very comparable. The states that comprise each EPA region are listed
in Tables 10 and 11.
One should keep in mind that the respondents were interviewed during all four seasons, and the results
we present are averaged over individuals who provided diaries throughout the year. Nevertheless, it is
interesting to observe that persons living in the upper mid-western area of the country (EPA Region 5) with
its cold winters and mild summers spend nearly the same percentage of time outdoors, on average, as most
any other part of the country, including the southwestern area (EPA Region 9) with its hot summers and mild
winters. These results are consistent with United States versus Canada comparisons.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
It is clear from studies of personal exposure that human activity patterns are crucial in identifying and
determining human exposure to environmental pollutants. Activity pattern data, such as that in the NHAPS
data base, may be used to estimate the prevalence and duration of population exposure, especially for high-
risk groups, to many environmental pollutants (such as tobacco smoke). For example, we can make the
following general observations based on activity pattern data alone:
" Americans spend 87% of their time indoors and 6% in an enclosed vehicle (on average)
" The percentage of time spent indoors, outdoors, and in vehicles is fairly invariant across people in
different parts of the United States (on average)
" Americans and Canadians spend similar amounts of time indoors, outdoors, and in vehicles (on aver-
age)25
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This article can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Article.
Klepeis, Neil E.; Nelson, William C.; Ott, Wayne R.; Robinson, John P.; Tsang, Andy M.; Switzer, Paul et al. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): A resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants, article, March 1, 2001; California. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc719357/m1/28/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.