Concentrations of submicrometre particles from vehicle emissions near a major road

Hitchins, J.; Morawska, Lidia; Wolff, Rodney C.; Gilbert, Dale

doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(99)00304-0

Cited by 348 publications

(209 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Direct comparability is impaired by the lack of traffic count data during the sampling periods in earlier studies, as well as by differences in monitor placement (e.g., a fourth-floor apartment in the semiurban location in Boston, versus roadside measurements in Roxbury). Ultrafine particle count concentrations in our study were somewhat higher than levels reported at sites in the Los Angeles basin (Kim et al, 2002) or at background urban sites in Australia (Hitchins et al, 2000), but were lower on average than near-road measurements in Australia or concentrations in other high-traffic settings in Boston (Levy et al, 2002). It is difficult to compare PM 2.5 concentrations with levels in other studies due to differences in instrumentation, but the mean concentration was higher than concentrations measured in other outdoor settings in Boston using the DustTrak (Levy et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

“…Urban PAH concentrations have also been linked with traffic volume, with minimal concentrations during low traffic and higher concentrations during rush hour (Levy et al, 2001). Ultrafine particle concentrations have been strongly correlated with traffic patterns, with particle number concentrations a factor of five greater at peak traffic periods than at night (Ruuskanen et al, 2001) and a factor of seven greater within 15 m of the road compared with average urban exposure levels (Hitchins et al, 2000). Particle number concentrations have also been related to wind speed and direction, with one study demonstrating decreasing concentrations at higher wind speeds (Zhu et al, 2002b) and a second finding an inverted U-shaped curve with lower concentrations at both high and low wind speeds (Zhu et al, 2002a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of traffic patterns on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Levy

Bennett

Melly

et al. 2003

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Vehicle emissions have been associated with adverse health effects in multiple epidemiological studies, but the sources or constituents responsible have not been established. Characterization of vehicle-related exposures requires detailed information on spatial and temporal trends of various pollutants and the ability to predict exposures in unmonitored settings. To address these issues, in the summer of 2001 we measured continuously particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ultrafine particles, and PM 2.5 at a number of sites in Roxbury, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts with significant diesel and gasoline-fueled traffic. We took measurements at the side of the road and at varying distances from the road, with simultaneous collection of traffic counts and meteorological conditions. Across all nine sites, median roadside concentrations were 8 ng/m 3 of particle-bound PAHs (range: 4-57), 16,000 ultrafine particles/cm 3 (range: 11,000-53,000), and 54 mg/m 3 of PM 2.5 as measured with a DustTrak (range: 12-86). Concentrations of all pollutants were lower at greater distances from the road, upwind, and at higher wind speeds, with greater concentration gradients for PAHs and ultrafine particles. In linear mixed effects regression models accounting for temporal autocorrelation, large diesel vehicle counts were significantly associated with roadside concentrations of PAHs (P ¼ 0.02), with a moderate association with ultrafine particles and little relation with PM 2.5 . Although more comprehensive information would be needed for epidemiological applications, these data demonstrate significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity for traffic-related pollutants during the summer in an urban center, with our monitoring and analytical methodology helping to inform source attribution.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of traffic patterns on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Levy

Bennett

Melly

et al. 2003

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…The mean number concentration of roadside ultrafine (10-100 nm) particles was low compared with that reported in many similar studies (Harrison et al, 1999;Hitchins et al, 2000;Hughes et al, 1998;Morawska et al, 1999;Ruellan and Cachier, 2001;Ruuskanen et al, 2001;Vakeva et al, 1999) (see Table 4, Paper I). Some possible explanations for this low value are that (1) there are no other nearby sources, e.g.…”

Section: Roadside Traffic Emissionscontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…The mean weekday traffic density on the E6 at the time of the study was about 45,700 vehicles per day (Gothenburg Traffic Office, 2006), but this did not influence the sampled concentrations. It has been shown that with increasing distance, ultrafine particles rapidly decrease in particle number concentration and change in particle size distribution (Hitchins et al, 2000;Zhu et al, 2002).…”

Section: Roadside Traffic Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal exposures and indoor, residential outdoor, and urban background levels of fine particle trace elements in the general population

et al. 2006

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The general population is exposed to particulate air pollution from many different local and regional sources. Examples of local sources are traffic, biomass burning and resuspended dust, while regional sources are dominated by combustion processes from heating, traffic and industries. The overall aim of this thesis was to characterise the personal exposure to trace elements in fine particles, mainly PM 2.5 and investigate how the exposure is related to indoor and outdoor levels. Particulate matter was collected on filters and analysed for elemental content by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy.In the general population in Göteborg, personal exposures to Cl, Ca, Ti and Fe were significantly higher compared with indoor, residential outdoor and urban background levels. Significant correlations were also found between urban background PM mass and personal exposure to elements related to both combustion (S, V and Pb) and resuspended dust (Ti, Fe and Zn), indicating that both sources could be relevant for health effects from urban background PM. In a community where wood burning for domestic heating is common, significantly (66-80%) higher personal exposures and indoor levels were found for K, Ca and Zn compared with a reference group living in the same area, indicating that these elements could be good markers for wood smoke. In a study in Stockholm concerning children's environments (home, school and preschool), higher indoor than outdoor levels of Ti were found, while long-range-transported (LRT) elements (S, Ni, Br and Pb) were higher outdoors. A community located 25 km from the city centre had significantly lower outdoor levels of crustal and traffic-related elements compared with both the city centre and a suburban area. The levels of Fe and Cu were four times higher in the central communities. Outdoors, Cu levels were found to correlate well with the traffic marker NO 2 , making it a possible elemental marker for traffic-related aerosols in health studies. Roadside measurements of fine and ultrafine (<100 nm) particles were performed along a major approach road to Göteborg and the levels of ultrafine particles were influenced not only by traffic intensity, but also, by wind speed and direction, as well as boundary layer height. No correlation was found between PM 2.5 and ultrafine particles or traffic, but there was a correlation between PM 2.5 and particles sized 100-368 nm. In all environments studied, the origin of LRT air masses had a strong effect on exposure and levels of PM elements.In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that elemental analysis is a useful method for better characterising human exposure to fine particles. For several elements, the personal exposure is often higher than corresponding indoor levels. The origin of LRT elements affected not only outdoor levels, but also, the personal exposure and indoor levels, and should be taken into account in time series studies of air pollution and health.

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“…The resulting weighted AADT values for all streets within the buffer were then summed for each subject. The "96% decay within 500 ft" criterion was selected because previous studies indicated substantial dispersion of motor vehicle exhaust pollutants within approximately this distance from roadways, although exact dispersion distances varied by study and pollutant measured (Hitchins et al 2000;Kuhler et al 1988;Nitta et al 1993;Ott 1977;Rodes and Holland 1981;Roorda-Knape et al 1998;Sistla et al 1979;Sivacoumar and Thanasekaran 1999;Wrobel et al 2000;Zhu et al 2002). We assigned a default DWTD value of 50 to 1,344 mapped homes (3%) with only small, uncounted local roads within the 750-ft buffer.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residential proximity to traffic and adverse birth outcomes in Los Angeles county, California, 1994-1996.

Wilhelm

Ritz

2003

Environ Health Perspect

318

238

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Epidemiologic studies addressing the relationship between ambient air pollution and fetal development are accumulating worldwide. Studies conducted in China (Wang et al. 1997;Xu et al. 1995), Brazil (Pereira et al. 1998), the Czech Republic (Bobak and Leon 1999;Dejmek et al. 1999;Perera et al. 1999), Mexico (Loomis et al. 1999), Korea (Ha et al. 2001), and the United States (Woodruff et al. 1997) linked ambient air pollution exposure during pregnancy with term low birth weight (LBW), intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), preterm birth, and perinatal mortality. We recently reported that increases in carbon monoxide, particulate matter < 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 10 ), and ozone concentrations during vulnerable pregnancy periods increased the risk of term LBW (Ritz and Yu 1999), preterm delivery (Ritz et al. 2000), and certain cardiac malformations, such as ventricular septal defects (Ritz et al. 2002). CO is released directly in motor vehicle exhaust and does not react readily in the atmosphere to form other compounds. Fine (< 2.5 µm) and ultrafine (< 0.1 µm) particles are also released directly in vehicle exhaust but undergo physical and chemical transformations in the atmosphere as they disperse from the roadway (Zhu et al. 2002). The consistently observed associations between ambient CO concentrations and adverse birth outcomes in our previous studies suggest that compounds in motor vehicle exhaust (either CO or associated compounds such as fine and ultrafine particles) may affect fetal development.In our previous studies (Ritz and Yu 1999;Ritz et al. 2000Ritz et al. , 2002, air pollution exposure assessment was based on measurements taken at ambient monitoring stations during specific pregnancy periods. Although such measures may adequately reflect average exposure of pregnant women to background air pollution concentrations in their neighborhood, they may not take into account differential exposure within neighborhoods due to proximity to heavy-traffic roadways and freeways. Women residing closer to these sources may experience greater exposure to potentially toxic compounds released directly in vehicle exhaust or formed in the atmosphere adjacent to roadways. Therefore, we examined whether residential proximity to heavy-traffic roadways, such as freeways and major arterials, during pregnancy was associated with the risk of term LBW and preterm birth in infants born to women living in Los Angeles County, California, between 1994-1996 using a case-control study design. MethodsSubjects. We used birth certificates, provided by the California Department of Health Services (Sacramento, CA), to identify study subjects and to determine their gestational age, birth weight, and values for covariates included in our analyses. We included infants born to women living in the 28 Los Angeles County zip codes evaluated in earlier work (Ritz and Yu 1999;Ritz et al. 2000) and 84 additional zip codes selected to capture areas intersected by freeways and major arterials and collectors (Figure 1). Overall we included...

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Concentrations of submicrometre particles from vehicle emissions near a major road

Cited by 348 publications

References 9 publications

Influence of traffic patterns on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Influence of traffic patterns on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Personal exposures and indoor, residential outdoor, and urban background levels of fine particle trace elements in the general population

Residential proximity to traffic and adverse birth outcomes in Los Angeles county, California, 1994-1996.

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