Accessing the Oxidative Potential of Dust from the Great Salt Lake

REUBEN ATTAH, Kerry Kelly, Kevin Perry, University of Utah

     Abstract Number: 138
     Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols

Abstract
Climate change and drought conditions have led to an increase in arid and semi-arid land globally. The Great Salt Lake, which lies west of Utah’s densely populated Wasatch front (80% of Utah’s population), has reached historic low levels with more than 1945 km2 of the exposed lakebed. This lakebed has a significant amount of minerals and elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and copper. Increasing dust levels and dust events are a concern along the Wasatch front because dust events transport high concentrations of harmful metals from the drying Great Salt Lakebed, leading to negative impacts on air quality and increased human exposure. Several studies have linked exposure to dust to mortality and morbidity caused by respiratory health effects. Some studies also suggested that the health effects of particulate matter (PM) can be linked to its oxidative potential (OP), which is a measure of the capacity of PM to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), and ROS formation is a possible pathway linking PM exposure and adverse biological responses. Although several studies have examined the OP of urban PM sources such as combustion particles, however, OP measurements from natural sources such as dust are scarce, and no studies have evaluated the oxidative potential of dust from the GSL. This study aims to understand the OP of dust from the GSL. The investigators collected PM samples from 42 different locations along the GSL where the wind is likely to entrain dust. These samples were sieved to PM75 and then aerosolized and collected on a filter to obtain the respirable size fraction (PM10). The dithiothreitol (DTT) acellular assay was used to determine the OP of the PM10 samples from 42 sites. Multivariate analysis was used to relate OP results to chemical characteristics and location.