AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols Impacted by the Iowa City Landfill Tire Fire
Jared Downard, ELIZABETH STONE, University of Iowa
Abstract Number: 767 Working Group: Carbonaceous Aerosols in the Atmosphere
Abstract On May 26, 2012 the Iowa City Landfill liner caught on fire, burning an estimated 1.3 million tires across 7 acres for more than two weeks. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected approximately two miles northeast of the fire and were impacted by the plume on six days. Organic species were measured in PM2.5 using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). Ambient PM2.5 contained elevated concentrations of elemental carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Benzo[a]pyrene, a Group 1 carcinogen, increased to levels 37 times greater than the background reaching a maximum 24 h average concentration of 1.4 ng/m3. The tire fire plume also contained high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as isoprene, limonene, benzene, and toluene, which may have contributed to secondary organic aerosol (SOA).