Near-road vehicle emissions air quality monitoring for exposure modeling

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jennifer L Moutinho, Georgia Institute of Technology; Donghai Liang, Emory University; Rachel Golan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Stefanie Ebelt, Emory University; Rodney Weber, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jeremy Sarnat, Emory University; Armistead G Russell, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-03-01
• Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117318
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
• Volume: 224
• Grant/Funding Information: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. (NSF DGE-1650044). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; GEORGIA; Near-road monitoring; HIGHWAY; SOURCE APPORTIONMENT; PARTICULATE MATTER MASS; Environmental Sciences; CHARACTERIZATION SEARCH; Science & Technology; SOUTHEASTERN AEROSOL RESEARCH; Physical Sciences; Traffic-related air pollutants; Diurnal profile of traffic emissions; Exposure assessment; FINE; PM2.5; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; TRENDS; POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences

Abstract

Exposure to vehicular emissions has been linked to numerous adverse health effects. In response to the arising concerns, near-road monitoring is conducted to better characterize the impact of mobile source emissions on air quality and exposure in the near-road environment. An intensive measurement campaign measured traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) and related data (e.g., meteorology, traffic, regional air pollutant levels) in Atlanta, along one of the busiest highway corridors in the US. Given the complexity of the near-road environment, the study aimed to compare two near-road monitors, located in close proximity to each other, to assess how observed similarities and differences between measurements at these two sites inform the siting of other near-road monitoring stations. TRAP measurements, including carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are analyzed at two roadside monitors in Atlanta, GA located within 325 m of each other. Both meteorological and traffic conditions were monitored to assess the temporal impact of these factors on traffic-related pollutant concentrations. The meteorological factors drove the diurnal variability of primary pollutant concentration more than traffic count. In spite of their proximity, while the CO and NO2 concentrations were correlated with similar diurnal variations, pollutant concentrations at the two closely sited monitors differed, likely due to the differences in the siting characteristics reducing the dispersion of the primary emissions out of the near-road environment. Overall, the near-road TRAP concentrations at all sites were not as elevated as seen in prior studies, supporting that decreased vehicle emissions have led to significant reductions in TRAP levels, even along major interstates. Further, the differences in the observed levels show that use of single near-road observations will not capture pollutant levels representative of the local near-road environment and that additional approaches (e.g., air quality models) are needed to characterize exposures.