AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Efficacy of an Engineered Vegetative Buffer on Near-Road Air Quality
PRADEEP S. PRATHIBHA, Ray Yeager, Aruni Bhatnagar, Daniel Fleischer, Brent Bucknum, Eben Cross, Jay R. Turner, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract Number: 790 Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract Exposure to urban air pollution is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and urban greening is a proposed means of reducing near-road air pollutant levels and improving public health. In this study, real-time gaseous pollutant and particulate matter concentrations were monitored on multiple days at an engineered vegetative buffer planted adjacent to a principal arterial road (annual average daily traffic: 33,515). The buffer, nominally 12 m deep and 75 m long, was designed by Hyphae Design Laboratory (Oakland, CA) with shrubs and forbs nearest to the road, followed by woody trees, to maximize pollutant dispersion and deposition.
Field monitoring featured three mixing condensation particle counters (MCPCs, Brechtel Inc., Hayward, CA) simultaneously measuring 1-second ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations at the Road (10 m from edge of the road), Control (35 m from the edge of the road in an open fetch), and Buffer (35 m from edge of the road, 15 m behind the buffer). During crosswinds approaching the buffer from the road, the median reduction in 3-min averaged UFP concentration at the Buffer was 15% (1,100 particles/cc) lower than at the Control. The buffer reduced wind speed by up to 50% (1.2 m/s), with the reduction plateauing with increasing wind speed. 5-sec estimated particulate matter mass concentrations data, measured using OPC-N2 optical particle counters (Alphasense Ltd, Essex, United Kingdom) aboard ARISense nodes (Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA), are also being analyzed for buffer effects.
This pilot study is informing the design of a community-scale prospective study, Green Heart Louisville (louisville.edu/greenheart), to examine linkages between urban vegetation and cardiovascular health, an association potentially mediated by the effect of vegetation on local air quality.