Near-road air pollution impacts of goods movement in communities adjacent to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (original) (raw)
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Atmospheric Environment, 2009
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the entry point for almost half of all cargo containers entering the United States. The use of diesel trucks to move Port-related goods has raised significant public health concerns associated with black carbon and other air pollutants. It is difficult to reliably estimate people's exposure to vehicle-related pollutants due to the narrow impact zone of traffic, usually within 200-300 m downwind of major roadways. Previous studies suffer from the lack of traffic count data on surface streets and the lack of neighborhood-level population data. We examined seasonal and annual average exposures of particulate matter less than 2.5 mm (PM 2.5 ) and elemental carbon (EC) at a neighborhood scale for communities heavily impacted by diesel trucks near these ports. We assembled a traffic-activity database that distinguishes gasoline and diesel vehicles on both freeways and surface streets, by consolidating information from several sources, including our own field measurements. The CALINE4 model was used to estimate residential exposure of the study population to PM 2.5 and EC. Parcel property data were used to allocate Census block group (BG) population to increase spatial resolution.
WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, 2013
While airborne particulate matter (PM) has been associated with numerous health effects, very few studies have extensively examined the changes in exposure to PM and its health-relevant constituents, which occur in major metropolitan areas over time (e.g., 5-10 years). This study addresses changes in the PM2.5 concentration and elemental composition between two monitoring campaigns (2002-2005 and 2010-2011) carried out in the Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) metropolitan area. The area is known for high traffic volume, largely represented by diesel-powered trucks on regional freeways. The air monitoring was conducted at four sites. Through an analysis of variance comparison, differences between the two data sets were assessed for PM2.5, ten selected elements, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and EC/OC (a surrogate of the diesel exhaust contribution). Measured at the site that was previously found to exhibit the highest level of EC attributable to traffic, most of traffic related elements and the EC/OC ratio showed statistically significant decreases in concentration over time; however, the decrease became of borderline significance when wind variables were incorporated into the model. No major differences between data generated in the two campaigns were observed at the other monitoring stations with respect to EC/OC. Although the positive trends identified in this study (e.g., decrease in PM2.5, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Zn, Br, and Pb, EC, OC, and EC/OC) may become sustainable in the future, no strong evidence was found that the air quality control and engine exhaust control policies implemented between 2005 and 2010 have produced significant changes in traffic air pollution levels in the entire metropolitan area. The PM monitoring
Neighborhood-scale air quality impacts of emissions from motor vehicles and aircraft
Atmospheric Environment, 2013
Large inter-community variations in traffic-related pollutant levels were observed. Intra-community variations in pollutants were also observed. Disproportionate contributions of high-emitting vehicles to UFP levels were examined. UFP emissions appeared to have decreased over the past decade. On the closure day, particulate pollution was conspicuously reduced area-wide. a b s t r a c t A mobile monitoring platform (MMP) was used to measure real-time air pollutant concentrations in different built environments of Boyle Heights (BH, a lower-income community enclosed by several freeways); Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA, adjacent to BH with taller buildings and surrounded by several freeways); and West Los Angeles (WLA, an affluent community traversed by two freeways) in summer afternoons of 2008 and 2011 (only for WLA). Significant inter-community and less significant but observable intra-community differences in traffic-related pollutant concentrations were observed both in the residential neighborhoods studied and on their arterial roadways between BH, DTLA, and WLA, particularly for ultrafine particles (UFP). HEV, defined as vehicles creating plumes with concentrations more than three standard deviations from the adjusted local baseline, were encountered during 6e13% of sampling time, during which they accounted for 17e55% of total UFP concentrations both on arterial roadways and in residential neighborhoods. If instead a single threshold value is used to define HEVs in all areas, HEV's were calculated to make larger contributions to UFP concentrations in BH than other communities by factors of 2e10 or more. Santa Monica Airport located in WLA appears to be a significant source for elevated UFP concentrations in nearby residential neighborhoods 80e400 m downwind. In the WLA area, we also showed, on a neighborhood scale, striking and immediate reductions in particulate pollution (w70% reductions in both UFP and, somewhat surprisingly, PM 2.5 ), corresponding to dramatic decreases in traffic densities during an I-405 closure event ("Carmageddon") compared to non-closure Saturday levels. Although pollution reduction due to decreased traffic is not unexpected, this dramatic improvement in particulate pollution provides clear evidence air quality can be improved through strategies such as heavy-duty-diesel vehicle retrofits, earlier retirement of HEV, and transition to electric vehicles and alternative fuels, with corresponding benefits for public health.
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2008
A growing number of epidemiological studies conducted worldwide suggest an increase in the occurrence of adverse health effects in populations living, working, or going to school near major roadways. A study was designed to assess traffic emissions impacts on air quality and particle toxicity near a heavily traveled highway. In an attempt to describe the complex mixture of pollutants and atmospheric transport mechanisms affecting pollutant dispersion in this near-highway environment, several real-time and time-integrated sampling devices measured IMPLICATIONS Increasing evidence of adverse health effects for populations spending large amounts of time near major roadways warrants investigation into the relationship of traffic activity and meteorology on the air quality to which these populations are exposed. Understanding these relationships will lead to better methods of protecting public health through improved voluntary, regulatory, and planning actions.
Articles Elemental Carbon and PM 2.5 Levels in an Urban Community Heavily Impacted by Truck Traffic
2013
is a hub in the tristate (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) freight transportation system. This study was carried out in response to community concerns about potential health effects of exposure to diesel exhaust particulate (DEP). We measured particulate matter < 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5) and elemental carbon (EC) on sidewalks and tested whether spatial variations in concentrations were related to local truck traffic density. Ten-hour integrated air samples for EC and PM 2.5 were collected for 9 days over a 3-week period in the summer of 1999 at seven geographically distinct intersections. Simultaneous traffic counts were carried out for each sampling event. Traffic was classified into three classes: passenger cars, small trucks, and large trucks (diesel vehicles). Mean diesel vehicle volumes ranged from 9.3 to 276.5 vehicles/hr across sites. Mean EC concentrations by site ranged from 2.6 µg/m 3 at the control site to 7.3 µg/m 3 along a designated truck route....
Vehicular traffic as a method to evaluate air pollution in large cities
Air pollution is a major concern for public health. Among the studies conducted to evaluate the association between air pollution and a wide variety of outcomes, some have used motor vehicle traffic data as a method for exposure assessment. This paper intends to revise and discuss some of the methodological aspects of studies that used this method, especially in areas where vehicles are the main generating source of pollutants. We performed a literature search with keywords related to air pollution and vehicle traffic, and selected articles published between the years 2000 to 2009. We noted different approaches for assessing the exposure among the studies using vehicle traffic, with emphasis on the method named Distance Weighted Traffic Density, which considers the number of roads, the distance from the location of interest and traffic itself. Moreover, we highlight the importance of using techniques such as geographic information systems (GIS) to measure this exposure.
Atmospheric environment (Oxford, England : 1994), 2014
Relatively few studies have characterized differences in intra- and inter-neighborhood traffic-related air pollutant (TRAP) concentrations and distance-decay gradients in along an urban highway for the purposes of exposure assessment. The goal of this work was to determine the extent to which intra- and inter-neighborhood differences in TRAP concentrations can be explained by traffic and meteorology in three pairs of neighborhoods along Interstate 93 (I-93) in the metropolitan Boston area (USA). We measured distance-decay gradients of seven TRAPs (PNC, pPAH, NO, NOX, BC, CO, PM2.5) in near-highway (<400 m) and background areas (>1 km) in Somerville, Dorchester/South Boston, Chinatown and Malden to determine whether (1) spatial patterns in concentrations and inter-pollutant correlations differ between neighborhoods, and (2) variation within and between neighborhoods can be explained by traffic and meteorology. The neighborhoods ranged in area from 0.5 to 2.3 km(2). Mobile monit...
Traffic-related Air Pollution near Busy Roads
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2004
Recent studies, primarily in Europe, have reported associations between respiratory symptoms and residential proximity to traffic; however, few have measured traffic pollutants or provided information about local air quality. We conducted a school-based, crosssectional study in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001. Information on current bronchitis symptoms and asthma, home environment, and demographics was obtained by parental questionnaire (n ϭ 1,109). Concentrations of traffic pollutants (particulate matter, black carbon, total nitrogen oxides [NO X ], and nitrogen dioxide [NO 2 ]) were measured at 10 school sites during several seasons. Although pollutant concentrations were relatively low, we observed differences in concentrations between schools nearby versus those more distant (or upwind) from major roads. Using a two-stage multiple-logistic regression model, we found associations between respiratory symptoms and traffic-related pollutants. Among those living at their current residence for at least 1 year, the adjusted odds ratio for asthma in relationship to an interquartile difference in NO X was 1.07 (95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.14). Thus, we found spatial variability in traffic pollutants and associated differences in respiratory symptoms in a region with good air quality. Our findings support the hypothesis that traffic-related pollution is associated with respiratory symptoms in children.