Impacts of Aviation Emissions on Near-Airport Residential Air Quality.

Impacts of aviation emissions on air quality in and around residences near airports remain underexamined. We measured gases (CO, CO2, NO, and NO2) and particles (black carbon, particle-bound aromatic hydrocarbons, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ultrafine particles (reported using particle number concentrations (PNC) as a proxy)) continuously for 1 month at a residence near the Logan International Airport, Boston. The residence was located under a flight trajectory of the most utilized runway configuration. We found that when the residence was downwind of the airport, the concentrations of all gaseous and particulate pollutants (except PM2.5) were 1.1- to 4.8-fold higher than when the residence was not downwind of the airport. Controlling for runway usage and meteorology, the impacts were highest during overhead landing operations: average PNC was 7.5-fold higher from overhead landings versus takeoffs on the closest runway. Infiltration of aviation-origin emissions resulted in indoor PNC that were comparable to ambient concentrations measured locally on roadways and near highways. In addition, ambient NO2 concentrations at the residence exceeded those measured at regulatory monitoring sites in the area including near-road monitors. Our results highlight the need for further characterization of outdoor and indoor impacts of aviation emissions at the neighborhood scale to more accurately estimate residential exposures.

Ultrafine particle size as a tracer for aircraft turbine emissions.

Ultrafine particle number (UFPN) and size distributions, black carbon, and nitrogen dioxide concentrations were measured downwind of two of the busiest airports in the world, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL - Atlanta, GA) using a mobile monitoring platform. Transects were located between 5 km and 10 km from the ATL and LAX airports. In addition, measurements were taken at 43 additional urban neighborhood locations in each city and on freeways. We found a 3-5 fold increase in UFPN concentrations in transects under the landing approach path to both airports relative to surrounding urban areas with similar ground traffic characteristics. The latter UFPN concentrations measured were distinct in size distributional properties from both freeways and across urban neighborhoods, clearly indicating different sources. Elevated concentrations of Black Carbon (BC) and NO2 were also observed on airport transects, and the corresponding pattern of elevated BC was consistent with the observed excess UFPN concentrations relative to other urban locations.

Emissions from an international airport increase particle number concentrations 4-fold at 10 km downwind.

We measured the spatial pattern of particle number (PN) concentrations downwind from the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with an instrumented vehicle that enabled us to cover larger areas than allowed by traditional stationary measurements. LAX emissions adversely impacted air quality much farther than reported in previous airport studies. We measured at least a 2-fold increase in PN concentrations over unimpacted baseline PN concentrations during most hours of the day in an area of about 60 km(2) that extended to 16 km (10 miles) downwind and a 4- to 5-fold increase to 8-10 km (5-6 miles) downwind. Locations of maximum PN concentrations were aligned to eastern, downwind jet trajectories during prevailing westerly winds and to 8 km downwind concentrations exceeded 75 000 particles/cm(3), more than the average freeway PN concentration in Los Angeles. During infrequent northerly winds, the impact area remained large but shifted to south of the airport. The freeway length that would cause an impact equivalent to that measured in this study (i.e., PN concentration increases weighted by the area impacted) was estimated to be 280-790 km. The total freeway length in Los Angeles is 1500 km. These results suggest that airport emissions are a major source of PN in Los Angeles that are of the same general magnitude as the entire urban freeway network. They also indicate that the air quality impact areas of major airports may have been seriously underestimated.

Modeling the concentrations of on-road air pollutants in southern California.

High concentrations of air pollutants on roadways, relative to ambient concentrations, contribute significantly to total personal exposure. Estimation of these exposures requires measurements or prediction of roadway concentrations. Our study develops, compares, and evaluates linear regression and nonlinear generalized additive models (GAMs) to estimate on-road concentrations of four key air pollutants, particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PB-PAH), particle number count (PNC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter with diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5) using traffic, meteorology, and elevation variables. Critical predictors included wind speed and direction for all the pollutants, traffic-related variables for PB-PAH, PNC, and NOx, and air temperatures and relative humidity for PM2.5. GAMs explained 50%, 55%, 46%, and 71% of the variance for log or square-root transformed concentrations of PB-PAH, PNC, NOx, and PM2.5, respectively, an improvement of 5% to over 15% over the linear models. Accounting for temporal autocorrelation in the GAMs further improved the prediction, explaining 57-89% of the variance. We concluded that traffic and meteorological data are good predictors in estimating on-road traffic-related air pollutant concentrations and GAMs perform better for nonlinear variables, such as meteorological parameters.

Ultrafine particle size distributions near freeways: Effects of differing wind directions on exposure.

High ambient ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations may play an important role in the adverse health effects associated with living near busy roadways. However, UFP size distributions change rapidly as vehicle emissions dilute and age. These size changes can influence UFP lung deposition rates and dose because deposition in the respiratory system is a strong function of particle size. Few studies to date have measured and characterized changes in near-road UFP size distributions in real-time, thus missing transient variations in size distribution due to short-term fluctuations in wind speed, direction, or particle dynamics. In this study we measured important wind direction effects on near-freeway UFP size distributions and gradients using a mobile platform with 5-s time resolution. Compared to more commonly measured perpendicular (downwind) conditions, parallel wind conditions appeared to promote formation of broader and larger size distributions of roughly one-half the particle concentration. Particles during more parallel wind conditions also changed less in size with downwind distance and the fraction of lung-deposited particle number was calculated to be 15% lower than for downwind conditions, giving a combined decrease of about 60%. In addition, a multivariate analysis of several variables found meteorology, particularly wind direction and temperature, to be important in predicting UFP concentrations within 150 m of a freeway (R2 = 0.46, p = 0.014).

Linking In-Vehicle Ultrafine Particle Exposures to On-Road Concentrations.

For traffic-related pollutants like ultrafine particles (UFP, Dp < 100 nm), a significant fraction of overall exposure occurs within or close to the transit microenvironment. Therefore, understanding exposure to these pollutants in such microenvironments is crucial to accurately assessing overall UFP exposure. The aim of this study was to develop models for predicting in-cabin UFP concentrations if roadway concentrations are known, taking into account vehicle characteristics, ventilation settings, driving conditions and air exchange rates (AER). Particle concentrations and AER were measured in 43 and 73 vehicles, respectively, under various ventilation settings and driving speeds. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression models were used to identify and quantify the factors that determine inside-to-outside (I/O) UFP ratios and AERs across a full range of vehicle types and ages. AER was the most significant determinant of UFP I/O ratios, and was strongly influenced by ventilation setting (recirculation or outside air intake). Inclusion of ventilation fan speed, vehicle age or mileage, and driving speed explained greater than 79% of the variability in measured UFP I/O ratios.

Vehicle and driving characteristics that influence in-cabin particle number concentrations.

In-transit microenvironments experience elevated levels of vehicle-related pollutants such as ultrafine particles. However, in-vehicle particle number concentrations are frequently lower than on-road concentrations due to particle losses inside vehicles. Particle concentration reduction occurs due to a complicated interplay between a vehicle's air-exchange rate (AER), which determines particle influx rate, and particle losses due to surfaces and the in-cabin air filter. Accurate determination of inside-to-outside particle concentration ratios is best made under realistic aerodynamic and AER conditions because these ratios and AER are determined by vehicle speed and ventilation preference, in addition to vehicle characteristics such as age. In this study, 6 vehicles were tested at 76 combinations of driving speeds, ventilation conditions (i.e., outside air or recirculation), and fan settings. Under recirculation conditions, particle number attenuation (number reduction for 10-1000 nm particles) averaged 0.83 ± 0.13 and was strongly negatively correlated with increasing AER, which in turn depended on speed and the age of the vehicle. Under outside air conditions, attenuation averaged 0.33 ± 0.10 and primarily decreased at higher fan settings that increased AER. In general, in-cabin particle number reductions did not vary strongly with particle size, and cabin filters exhibited low removal efficiencies.

Predictive model for vehicle air exchange rates based on a large, representative sample.

The in-vehicle microenvironment is an important route of exposure to traffic-related pollutants, particularly ultrafine particles. However, significant particle losses can occur under conditions of low air exchange rate (AER) when windows are closed and air is recirculating. AERs are lower for newer vehicles and at lower speeds. Despite the importance of AER in affecting in-vehicle particle exposures, few studies have characterized AER and all have tested only a small number of cars. One reason for this is the difficulty in measuring AER with tracer gases such as SF(6), the most common method. We developed a simplified yet accurate method for determining AER using the occupants' own production of CO(2), a convenient compound to measure. By measuring initial CO(2) build-up rates and equilibrium values of CO(2) at fixed speeds, AER was calculated for 59 vehicles representative of California's fleet. AER measurements correlated and agreed well with the largest other study conducted (R(2) = 0.83). Multivariable models captured 70% of the variability in observed AER using only age, mileage, manufacturer, and speed. These results will be useful to exposure and epidemiological studies since all model variable values are easily obtainable through questionnaire.

Relative importance of school bus-related microenvironments to children's pollutant exposure.

Real-time concentrations of black carbon, particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate counts, as well as integrated and real-time fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass concentrations were measured inside school buses during long commutes on Los Angeles Unified School District bus routes, at bus stops along the routes, at the bus loading/unloading zone in front of the selected school, and at nearby urban "background" sites. Across all of the pollutants, mean concentrations during bus commutes were higher than in any other microenvironment. Mean exposures (mean concentration times time spent in a particular microenvironment) in bus commutes were between 50 and 200 times greater than those for the loading/unloading microenvironment, and 20-40 times higher than those for the bus stops, depending on the pollutant. Although the analyzed school bus commutes represented only 10% of a child's day, on average they contributed one-third of a child's 24-hr overall black carbon exposure during a school day. For species closely related to vehicle exhaust, the within- cabin exposures were generally dominated by the effect of surrounding traffic when windows were open and by the bus's own exhaust when windows were closed. Low-emitting buses generally exhibited high concentrations only when traveling behind a diesel vehicle, whereas high-emitting buses exhibited high concentrations both when following other diesel vehicles and when idling without another diesel vehicle in front of the bus. To reduce school bus commute exposures, we recommend minimizing commute times, avoiding caravanning with other school buses, using the cleanest buses for the longest bus routes, maintaining conventional diesel buses to eliminate visible emissions, and transitioning to cleaner fuels and advanced particulate control technologies as soon as possible.

Characterizing the range of children's air pollutant exposure during school bus commutes.

Real-time and integrated measurements of gaseous and particulate pollutants were conducted inside five conventional diesel school buses, a diesel bus with a particulate trap, and a bus powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) to determine the range of children's exposures during school bus commutes and conditions leading to high exposures. Measurements were made during 24 morning and afternoon commutes on two Los Angeles Unified School District bus routes from South to West Los Angeles, with seven additional runs on a rural/suburban route, and three runs to test the effect of window position. For these commutes, the mean concentrations of diesel vehicle-related pollutants ranged from 0.9 to 19 microg/m(3) for black carbon, 23 to 400 ng/m(3) for particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PB-PAH), and 64 to 220 microg/m(3) for NO(2). Concentrations of benzene and formaldehyde ranged from 0.1 to 11 microg/m(3) and 0.3 to 5 microg/m(3), respectively. The highest real-time concentrations of black carbon, PB-PAH and NO(2) inside the buses were 52 microg/m(3), 2000 ng/m(3), and 370 microg/m(3), respectively. These pollutants were significantly higher inside conventional diesel buses compared to the CNG bus, although formaldehyde concentrations were higher inside the CNG bus. Mean black carbon, PB-PAH, benzene and formaldehyde concentrations were higher when the windows were closed, compared with partially open, in part, due to intrusion of the bus's own exhaust into the bus cabin, as demonstrated through the use of a tracer gas added to each bus's exhaust. These same pollutants tended to be higher on urban routes compared to the rural/suburban route, and substantially higher inside the bus cabins compared to ambient measurements. Mean concentrations of pollutants with substantial secondary formation, such as PM(2.5), showed smaller differences between open and closed window conditions and between bus routes. Type of bus, traffic congestion levels, and encounters with other diesel vehicles contributed to high exposure variability between runs.