Long-term study of urban ultrafine particles and other pollutants

Abstract

Continuous measurements of number size distributions of ultrafine particles (UFPs) and other pollutants (PM 2.5 , SO 2 , CO and O 3 ) have been performed in Rochester, New York since late November 2001. The 2002–2009 average number concentrations of particles in three size ranges (10–50 nm, 50–100 nm and 100–500 nm) were 4730 cm −3 , 1838 cm −3 , and 1073 cm −3 , respectively. The lowest annual average number concentrations of particles in 10–50 nm and 50–100 nm were observed during 2008–2009. The lowest monthly average number concentration of 10–50 nm particles was observed in July and the highest in February. The daily patterns of 10–50 nm particles had two peaks at early morning (7–8 AM) and early afternoon (2 PM). There was a distinct declining trend in the peak number concentrations from 2002–2005 to 2008–2009. Large reductions in SO 2 concentrations associated with northerly winds between 2007 and 2009 were observed. The most significant annual decrease in the frequency of morning particle nucleation was observed from 2005 to 2007. The monthly variation in the morning nucleation events showed a close correlation with number concentrations of 10–50 nm particles ( r = 0.89). The frequency of the local SO 2 -related nucleation events was much higher before 2006. All of these results suggest significant impacts of highway traffic and industrial sources. The decrease in particle number concentrations and particle nucleation events likely resulted from a combination of the U.S. EPA 2007 Heavy-Duty Highway Rule implemented on October 1, 2006, the closure of a large coal-fired power plant in May 2008, and the reduction of Eastman Kodak emissions.