Impact of the 2002 Canadian Forest Fires on Particulate Matter Air Quality in Baltimore City
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- 作者：Amir Sapkota ; J. Morel Symons ; Jan Kleissl ; Lu Wang ; Marc B. Parlange ; John Ondov ; Patrick N. Breysse ; Gregory B. Diette ; Peyton A. Eggleston ; and Timothy J. Buckley
- 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
- 出版年：2005
- 出版时间：January 1, 2005
- 年：2005
- 卷：39
- 期：1
- 页码：24 - 32
- 全文大小：695K
- 年卷期：v.39,no.1(January 1, 2005)
- ISSN：1520-5851
文摘
With increasing evidence of adverse health effectsassociated with particulate matter (PM), the exposureimpact of natural sources, such as forest fires, has substantialpublic health relevance. In addition to the threat tonearby communities, pollutants released from forest firescan travel thousands of kilometers to heavily populated urbanareas. There was a dramatic increase in forest fireactivity in the province of Quebec, Canada, during July2002. The transport of PM released from these forest fireswas examined using a combination of a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer satellite image, back-trajectories using a hybrid single-particle Lagrangianintegrated trajectory, and local light detection and rangingmeasurements. Time- and size-resolved PM was evaluatedat three ambient and four indoor measurement sitesusing a combination of direct reading instruments (laser, time-of-flight aerosol spectrometer, nephelometer, and anoscillating microbalance). The transport and monitoringresults consistently identified a forest fire related PM episodein Baltimore that occurred the first weekend of July2002 and resulted in as much as a 30-fold increase inambient fine PM. On the basis of tapered element oscillatingmicrobalance measurements, the 24 h PM2.5 concentrationreached 86 
g/m3 on July 7, 2002, exceeding the 24 hnational ambient air quality standard. The episode wasprimarily comprised of particles less than 2.5 m inaerodynamic diameter, highlighting the preferential transportof the fraction of PM that is of greatest health concern.Penetration of the ambient episode indoors was efficient(median indoor-to-outdoor ratio 0.91) such that the highambient levels were similarly experienced indoors. Theseresults are significant in demonstrating the impact of anatural source thousands of kilometers away on ambientlevels of and potential exposures to air pollution within anurban center. This research highlights the significanceof transboundary air pollution and the need for studiesthat assess the public health impacts associated with suchsources and transport processes.
g/m3 on July 7, 2002, exceeding the 24 hnational ambient air quality standard. The episode wasprimarily comprised of particles less than 2.5 m inaerodynamic diameter, highlighting the preferential transportof the fraction of PM that is of greatest health concern.Penetration of the ambient episode indoors was efficient(median indoor-to-outdoor ratio 0.91) such that the highambient levels were similarly experienced indoors. Theseresults are significant in demonstrating the impact of anatural source thousands of kilometers away on ambientlevels of and potential exposures to air pollution within anurban center. This research highlights the significanceof transboundary air pollution and the need for studiesthat assess the public health impacts associated with suchsources and transport processes.