AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Intra-urban Spatial and Temporal Variations in Fine Particle Number, Mass Concentration, and Size Distributions
ALBERT A. PRESTO, Naomi Zimmerman, Hugh Li, Peishi Gu, R. Subramanian, Allen Robinson, Joshua Apte, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract Number: 345 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract Human exposure to PM2.5 is linked with myriad health effects, including asthma, cancer, and premature death. While most air pollution epidemiology focuses on the effects of exposure to PM2.5 (or PM10) mass concentrations, exposure to particle number, especially for ultrafine particles (UFP) smaller than 100 nm, is an area of emerging concern. Toxicological studies suggest that UFP may be more harmful per unit mass than the larger particles that dominate PM2.5 mass.
Spatial and temporal variations in PM2.5 mass and UFP number concentrations create exposure gradients, both between cities and within cities, and can generate zones of excess risk. This study investigates spatial and temporal variations in PM2.5 mass, UFP number concentrations, and particle size distributions in a representative US city (Pittsburgh, PA). Data were collected using a combination of distributed real-time, stationary monitors and mobile monitoring. We will present results from spatially distributed measurements with focus on three specific environments: upwind of the urban area, urban high traffic, and urban outflow. Analyses will focus on potential factors driving concentration and exposure gradients, e.g., anthropogenic emissions, regional new particle formation events, and land use/urban form.