Elsevier

Atmospheric Environment

Volume 36, Issue 27, September 2002, Pages 4323-4335
Atmospheric Environment

Study of ultrafine particles near a major highway with heavy-duty diesel traffic

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00354-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Motor vehicle emissions usually constitute the most significant source of ultrafine particles (diameter <0.1 μm) in an urban environment. Zhu et al. (J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 2002, accepted for publication) conducted systematic measurements of the concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles in the vicinity of a highway dominated by gasoline vehicle. The present study compares these previous measurements with those made on Interstate 710 freeway in Los Angeles. The 710 freeway was selected because more than 25% of the vehicles are heavy-duty diesel trucks. Particle number concentration and size distribution in the size range from 6 to 220 nm were measured by a condensation particle counter and a scanning mobility particle sizer, respectively. Measurements were taken at 17, 20, 30, 90, 150, and 300 m downwind and 200 m upwind from the center of the freeway. At each sampling location, concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and black carbon (BC) were also measured by a Dasibi CO monitor and an Aethalometer, respectively. The range of average concentration of CO, BC and total particle number concentration at 17 m was 1.9–2.6 ppm, 20.3–24.8 μg/m3, 1.8×105–3.5×105/cm3, respectively. Relative concentration of CO, BC and particle number decreased exponentially and tracked each other well as one moves away from the freeway. Both atmospheric dispersion and coagulation appears to contribute to the rapid decrease in particle number concentration and change in particle size distribution with increasing distance from the freeway. Average traffic flow during the sampling periods was 12,180 vehicles/h with more than 25% of vehicles being heavy-duty diesel trucks. Ultrafine particle number concentration measured at 300 m downwind from the freeway was indistinguishable from upwind background concentration. These data may be used to estimate exposure to ultrafine particles in the vicinity of major highways.

Introduction

Epidemiological data from air pollution studies have shown a consistent relationship between increases in particulate matter (PM) exposure and contemporary increases in mortality and morbidity (Schwartz, 1991; Dockery et al., 1993; Pope et al., 1995; Vedal, 1997). However, the underlying biological causes of the health effects of PM exposure and the correct measurement metric are unclear. For example, it is not clear whether the mass concentration (Osunsanya et al., 2001) or the number concentration (Peters et al., 1997; Penttinen et al., 2001) is most important in causing these adverse PM health effects. Currently, there are several hypotheses used to explain the association of PM and observed adverse health effect. One argues that particle surface contaminants, such as transition metals, contribute towards ill health (Fubini et al., 1995; Gilmour et al., 1996), wherein the ultrafine particles are thought to act as vehicles for those contaminants, initiating local lung damage when the particles deposit on the epithelial surfaces. Another hypothesis is that the physical characteristics (e.g. number, size, shape, aggregation properties) are important in producing health effects (Bérubé et al., 1999). Particle shape and size are critical factor controlling where the inhaled particles deposit in the various regions of human respiratory system by the complex action of aerosol deposition mechanisms (Hinds, 1999).

Recent toxicological studies have concluded that ultrafine particles (diameter <100 nm) are more toxic than larger particles with the same chemical composition and at the same mass concentration (Ferin et al., 1990; Oberdörster (1996), Oberdörster (2001); Donaldson et al (1998), Donaldson et al (2001); Churg et al., 1999; Brown et al., 2000). Currently, however, only the mass concentration of PM <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) and <2.5 μm (PM2.5) are regulated. Information about ultrafine particles is usually not available. In fact, even though ultrafine particles represent over 80% of particles in terms of number concentration in an urban environment (Morawska et al (1998a), Morawska et al (1998b)), the less numerous but much heavier particles of the accumulation (0.1–2 μm) and coarse (2.5–10 μm) modes dominate mass concentration measurements. Thus, number concentration, together with the size distribution of ultrafine particles, is needed to better assess ambient air quality and its potential health effects.

Emission inventories suggest that motor vehicles are the primary direct emission sources of fine and ultrafine particles to the atmosphere in urban areas (Schauer et al., 1996; Shi et al., 1999; Hitchins et al., 2000). Although traffic-related air pollution in urban environments has been of increasing concern, most studies have focused on gaseous pollutants, total mass concentration, or chemical composition of particulate pollutants (Kuhler et al., 1994; Clairborn et al., 1995; Williams and McCrae, 1995; Janssen et al., 1997; Roorda-Knape et al (1998a), Roorda-Knape et al (1998b); Wrobel et al., 2000). Booker (1997) found that particle number concentration was strongly correlated with vehicle traffic while PM10 was essentially uncorrelated with traffic. Since the majority of particle number from vehicle exhaust are in the size range 20–130 nm for diesel engines (Morawska et al (1998a), Morawska et al (1998b)) and 20–60 nm for gasoline engines (Ristovski et al., 1998), it is important and necessary to quantify ultrafine particle emission levels, and to determine ultrafine particle behavior after emission as they are transported away from the emission source—busy roads and freeways.

Morawska et al. (1999) measured the horizontal and vertical profiles of submicrometer particulates (16–626 nm) near a major arterial route in the urban area of Brisbane, Australia. They found, with the exception of measurements in close proximity to the road (about 15 m), that the horizontal ground-level profile measurements did not show statistically significant differences in fine particle number concentration for up to 200 m distances away from the road. Hitchins et al. (2000) examined the particle size distribution and concentration in the size range from 15 nm to 20 μm at distances from a road ranging from 15 to 375 m at two sites in Australia. They conducted measurements under different wind conditions and found that when the wind is blowing directly from the road, the concentration of the fine and ultrafine particles decayed to about half of their maximum at a distance of 100–150 m from the road. Shi et al. (1999) measured ultrafine particle number concentrations and size distributions at a busy roadside and at nearby urban background sites in Birmingham, United Kingdom. They observed a faster decline of particle number concentration than mass concentration. In a recent study, Shi et al. (2001) reported that the fraction of particles <10 nm represents more than about 40% of the total particle number concentrations at 4 and 25 m from the roadside curb.

While there have been recent studies of ultrafine particles from traffic in other countries, except for Zhu et al. (2002), no comparable work has been done in the Los Angeles basin, a home to more than 15 million individuals and 10 million vehicles contributing to daily traffic. Previous studies have shown that meteorological conditions may affect substantially the characteristics of PM emitted from vehicles. Kittelson et al. (2001) found in their on-road PM measurements that the concentration of particles in the nuclei mode increases by nearly a factor of 10 as the (air) temperature is reduced from 25°C to 15°C. This observation suggests that there could be significant differences in the tendency to form semi-volatile nanoparticles between, for example, northern Europe and Southern California.

Zhu et al. (2002) conducted a systematic ultrafine particle study near one of the busiest freeways in the Los Angeles basin, Interstate 405. Traffic on that freeway was dominated by gasoline-powered cars and light trucks, with <5% of vehicles being heavy-duty diesel trucks. In the US, spark ignition vehicles usually account for most of the vehicles operating on highways. However, since diesel vehicles emit more PM on a fleet averaged, gram-per-vehicle mile mass basis (Kittelson et al., 2001), and that diesel engine exhaust has been proposed as carcinogen in animals and probably carcinogenic for humans (IARC, 1989), it is necessary and timely to conduct a comprehensive study of ultrafine particles in the vicinity of a diesel vehicle dominated freeway. Thus, the aim of the present paper is to systematically evaluate ultrafine particles in the vicinity of the 710 freeway in the Los Angeles basin, a freeway where more than 25% of vehicles are heavy-duty diesel trucks. Particle number concentration and size distribution in the size range from 6 to 220 nm are measured along with CO and black carbon (BC) as a function of distances upwind and downwind the 710 freeway. The results from the current study are compared to these by Zhu et al. (2002) which were obtained near the 405 freeway.

Section snippets

Description of sampling site

This study was conducted in the City of Downey along Southern Avenue between 30 August and 27 October 2001. The location was chosen for its proximity to the freeway and the lack of other nearby ultrafine particle emission sources. Southern Avenue is located perpendicular to Interstate 710 Freeway and Garfield Avenue near the Los Amigos Country Club. Freeway 710 runs generally north and south near the sampling site and parallels the Los Angeles River.

This location is ideal for this study for

Results and discussion

The results presented below include measurements of total particle number concentrations by a control CPC, wind velocity by a Weather Wizard III, both positioned at a fixed location 20 m downwind of the freeway; and CO, BC concentration, and ultrafine particles size distributions upwind and at six downwind distances from freeway 710.

Conclusions and summary

Wind speed and direction are important in determining the characteristic of ultrafine particles near freeways. The average concentrations of CO, BC and particle number concentration at 17 m was 1.9–2.6 ppm, 20.3–24.8 μg/m3, 1.8×105–3.5×105/cm3, respectively. Relative concentration of CO, BC and particle number tracked each other well as one moves away from the freeway. Exponential decay was found to be a good estimator for the decrease of these three pollutants’ concentration with distance along

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Southern California Particulate Center and Supersite: US Environmental Protection Agency under grant number R82735201, and California Air Resources Board under contract number 98-316. The authors also would like to thank Mr. Yuqing Zhang, for his assistance with the field measurement.

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