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Emissions Inventory of PM2.5 Trace Elements across the United States
Citation:
REFF, A. H., P. BHAVE, H. SIMON, T. PACE, G. POULIOT, D. MOBLEY, AND M. HOUYOUX. Emissions Inventory of PM2.5 Trace Elements across the United States. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 43(15):5790-5796, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s) Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. AMD′s research program is engaged in developing and evaluating predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting the Nation′s air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures, as affected by changes in ecosystem management and regulatory decisions. AMD is responsible for providing a sound scientific and technical basis for regulatory policies based on air quality models to improve ambient air quality. The models developed by AMD are being used by EPA, NOAA, and the air pollution community in understanding and forecasting not only the magnitude of the air pollution problem, but also in developing emission control policies and regulations for air quality improvements.
Description:
This paper presents the first National Emissions Inventory (NEI) of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that includes the full suite of PM2.5 trace elements (atomic number >10) measured at ambient monitoring sites across the U.S. PM 2.5 emissions in the NEI were organized and aggregated into a set of 84 source categories for which chemical speciation profiles are available (e.g. Unpaved Road Dust, Agricultural Soil, Wildfires). Emission estimates for ten metals classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) were refined using data from a recent HAP NEI. All emissions were spatially gridded and U.S. emissions maps for dozens of trace elements (e.g. Fe, TI) were presented for the first time. Our chemical, characterization of the PM2.5 inventory shows that most of the previously un-speciated emissions are comprised of crustal elements, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and metal-bound oxygen. This work also reveals that the largest PM2.5 sources lacking specific speciation data are off-road diesel-powered mobile equipment, road construction dust, marine vessels, gasoline-powered boats and railroad locomotives.
URLs/Downloads:
Emissions Inventory of PM2.5 Trace Elements across the United States (PDF, NA pp, 4243 KB, about PDF)Environmental Science and Technology
