Abstract
Health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may vary by composition, and the characterization of constituents may help to identify key PM2.5 sources, such as diesel, distributed across an urban area. The composition of diesel particulate matter (DPM) is complicated, and elemental and organic carbon are often used as surrogates. Examining multiple elemental and organic constituents across urban sites, however, may better capture variation in diesel-related impacts, and help to more clearly separate diesel from other sources. We designed a “super-saturation” monitoring campaign of 36 sites to capture spatial variance in PM2.5 and elemental and organic constituents across the downtown Pittsburgh core (~2.8 km2). Elemental composition was assessed via inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), organic and elemental carbon via thermal-optical reflectance, and organic compounds via thermal desorption gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (TD-GCMS). Factor analysis was performed including all constituents—both stratified by, and merged across, seasons. Spatial patterning in the resultant factors was examined using land use regression (LUR) modelling to corroborate factor interpretations. We identified diesel-related factors in both seasons; for winter, we identified a five-factor solution, describing a bus and truck-related factor [black carbon (BC), fluoranthene, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), pyrene, total carbon] and a fuel oil combustion factor (nickel, vanadium). For summer, we identified a nine-factor solution, which included a bus-related factor (benzo[ghi]fluoranthene, chromium, chrysene, fluoranthene, manganese, pyrene, total carbon, total elemental carbon, zinc) and a truck-related factor (benz[a]anthracene, BC, hopanes, NO2, total PAHs, total steranes). Geographic information system (GIS)-based emissions source covariates identified via LUR modelling roughly corroborated factor interpretations.
Highlights
Diesel particulate matter (DPM) has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S EPA), [1,2,3,4] and has been associated with lung injury and respiratory health [4], cardiovascular illness, birth outcomes [5], cognitive effects [6,7], Int
We previously reported that bus density explained substantial spatial variation in PM2.5, black carbon (BC), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and various other organic and elemental constituents [26] across the downtown Pittsburgh core
Given the relatively greater instability of these compounds, we considered additional criteria, ensuring that each was: (1) previously identified, in the published literature, as a marker of diesel exhaust, (2) quantifiable using thermal desorption gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) or other GC-MS method, and (3) had relatively lower volatility and reactivity, in comparison to other diesel exhaust components [29,30,31,32,33,34,35]
Summary
Diesel particulate matter (DPM) has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S EPA), [1,2,3,4] and has been associated with lung injury and respiratory health [4], cardiovascular illness, birth outcomes [5], cognitive effects [6,7], Int. J. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2177; doi:10.3390/ijerph15102177 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2177 blood-brain barrier integrity [8], endocrine disruption [9], and other health outcomes, in epidemiologic and controlled-dose studies in both humans [10,11,12] and animals [13,14,15,16]. By more clearly identifying the air pollution impact of diesel sources in urban areas, researchers can more accurately evaluate diesel-related health effects, and interventions may be more effectively targeted towards reducing population exposures and improving urban health
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