Temperature and Age-Dependent Secondary Aerosol Precursor Emissions from Building Materials and Consumer Products and Their Dynamics in Urban Aerosol

EMILY FRANKLIN, Rose K Rossell, Cameron Osburn, Katelyn Rediger, Adam De Groodt, Michael Vermeuel, Trey Maddaleno, Dylan Millet, Allen Goldstein, Delphine K. Farmer, CSIRO Environment

     Abstract Number: 530
     Working Group: Chemicals of Emerging Concern in Aerosol: Sources, Transformations, and Impacts

Abstract
Secondary organic aerosol formed from the condensation and oxidation of gas-phase precursors dominates fine aerosol globally, playing an integral role in the climate system and contributing to adverse health outcomes in polluted regions. Anthropogenic sources of aerosol precursor emissions have shifted away from industrial and vehicular dominance as engineering controls and regulations have evolved, increasing the relative importance of less well characterized sources broadly categorized as volatile chemical products (VCPs). This work presents the preliminary results of a series of laboratory experiments examining secondary aerosol precursor emissions from consumer products and building materials across a range of relevant parameters including temperature, age, and real-world use scenarios. Product classes examined include personal care products, cleaning products, lumber, paint, and roof tar. These results are then compared to the speciated composition of aerosol samples (analysed by two-dimensional gas chromatography) collected under ambient urban conditions as part of the Fluxes of Reactive Organic Gases in New York (FROG-NY) field campaign, which took place from early July to mid-August 2023 at a cell tower in Mineola, New York. Of the > 900 compounds speciated and traced, > 200 were classified as likely originating from VCPs, and >100 of these were positively identifiable and attributable to a plausible VCP production or use cases. These compounds include a range of species commonly reported in the gas phase or in indoor environments but rarely reported in aerosol under ambient conditions, such as phthalates, siloxanes, and coatings. Ambient atmospheric variabilities were extremely complex, but key species were elevated under conditions of low wind speeds and airmasses which passed over densely populated areas, while temperature was only weekly associated with elevated aerosol-phase concentrations. Together, these laboratory and field observations advance our mechanistic understanding of VCPs' potential contributions to secondary aerosol formation in the urban atmosphere.