AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Land Use Regression Models of Traffic-Related Semi-Volatile Organic Pollutants in an Urban Area with Elevated Prevalence of Pediatric Asthma
Sarah Esenther, Elizabeth Lin, Laura Minet, Marianne Hatzopoulou, KRYSTAL GODRI POLLITT, Yale University
Abstract Number: 235 Working Group: Aerosol Exposure
Abstract The spatial variance of select traffic-related air pollutants (PM2.5 mass, black carbon and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) has been evaluated using land use regression (LUR) methods in numerous geographic regions. Spatial models of PM composition and specifically the organic fraction is lacking. One challenge in building LUR models is the collection of simultaneous samplers at multiple sites to measure airborne organic pollutants. To facilitate assessment of this organic fraction we developed a low-cost air pollutant sampler. The device passively absorbs semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) into a polydimethylsiloxane sorbent material which were analysed off-line by thermal desorption high resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometry. NO2 is also measured by the sampler using an Ogawa pad. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the utility of this low-cost sampler for measuring SVOCs at multiple sites and use these measurements to build LUR models for individual organic components. We evaluated Springfield, Massachusetts given the elevated prevalence of pediatric asthma (19%) compared to the state average (11%) coupled with the recognised sensitivity of asmathic children to traffic-related air pollutants. It was of interest to use SVOC LUR models to identify regions with increased tailpipe and non-tailpipe derived pollutant levels. Forty samplers were deployed across Springfield (~185 km2) at urban and suburban sites for five consecutive weekdays in June 2018. A five-day time-integrated average concentration of SVOCs were measured at each site. Six compounds had detectable concentrations at 20 or more of the sample locations. LUR models were built for these SVOCs as well as NO2 using built environment and land use characteristics. These exposure surfaces will be compared with personal exposure measurements from a cohort of asthmatic children in Springfield and further serve as a valuable resource for the analysis health outcomes and risk assessment.