Air quality and characteristic community parameters.

Abstract

Statistical correlations between all pairs of 16 selected air quality measurements and 13 selected community parameters for 66 standard metropolitan statistical areas have been calculated, tested for significance, and reviewed for meaningful relationships. Some of the more meaningful relationships are presented in this paper. Of special interest are the correlations between the sulfate fraction of suspended particulate matter and the use of sulfur-containing fuels (r = 0.66), between ambient sulfur dioxide and the use of sulfur-containing fuels (r = 0.85), between the lead fraction of suspended particulates and annual purchases of gasoline (r = 0.71), and between vanadium in suspended particulates and the percent residual fuel oil used in a community (r = 0.69). Several of these relationships are given more definitive description with mathematical equations that describe how the ambient pollutant concentration varies as a function of a related community parameter. The geographic distribution of high and low pollutant levels is also discussed. Intricate cause-and-effect relationships prevail between the environment and the life cycles of living organisms. If facets of the environment begin to differ markedly from their accustomed range, the survival of certain organisms may be in peril. Man has developed the ability to isolate himself from the consequences of many shortterm stresses in the environment, such as temperature extremes, and food and water deficiencies. In exercising this unique adaptability, however, man has begun to modify the environment of Messrs. McMullen, Fensterstock, Faoro, and Smith are associated with the Air Quality and Emission Data Program, National Air Pollution Control Administration, Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, Cincinnati, Ohio 45227. many areas by introducing into them by-products of his activities. When the environment cannot assimilate these by-products as rapidly as they are produced, they begin to accumulate and thus disturb the existing equilibrium. Analyses of the soil, water, and air begin to show the presence of abnormal quantities of these substances or their effects, which now assume the character of pollutants. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the relationships between 16 air quality measurements and 13 community parameters that primarily characterize human activities, and also includes two meteorological factors. Only some of the more meaningful relationships are presented in this paper. These 29 variables, inventoried for 66 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas that contain 46 percent of the nation's population, were paired in 357 combinations, and simple correlation coefficients were calculated. Selected relationships between air quality measurements and community parameters and between pairs of air quality measurements presented herein permit a quantitative estimate of the effect on one parameter from changes in the other parameter. The air quality data used in this study come from the Public Health Service's National Air Surveillance Networks. These networks usually consist of one sampling site per city. A single sampling site does not provide a complete picture of city-wide air quality; however, for assessing relative pollutant levels from community to community, data from a single centrally located sampling site do in fact provide a meaningful index of air quality. They in