Decrease in Ambient Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Concentrations in California’s San Joaquin Valley 2000–2019

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hammond SK ; Lurmann F ; Minor HA ; Noth EM ; Perrino C ; Vaughn D
• Description:
  As part of our ongoing research to understand the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures on health in the San Joaquin Valley, we evaluated airborne PAH concentration data collected over 19 years (2000-2019) at the central air monitoring site in Fresno, California. We found a dramatic decline in outdoor airborne PAH concentrations between 2000 and 2004 that has been maintained through 2019. This decline was present in both the continuous particle-bound PAHs and the filter-based individual PAHs. The decline was more extreme when restricted to winter concentrations. Annual mean PAHs concentrations in 2017-2018 of particle-bound PAHs were 6.8 ng/m3 or 62% lower than 2000-2001. The decline for winter concentrations of continuous particle-bound PAHs between winter 2019 and winter 2001 was 17.2 ng/m3, a drop of 70%. The 2001 to 2018 decline in average wintertime concentrations for filter-based individual PAHs was 82%. We examined industrial emissions, on-road vehicle emissions, residential wood burning, and agricultural and biomass waste burning as possible explanations. The major decline in PAHs from 2000 to 2004 was coincident with and most likely due to a similar decline in the amount of agricultural and biomass waste burned in Fresno and Madera Counties. On-road vehicle emissions and residential wood burning did not decline until after 2005. Industrial emissions were too low (2% of total) to explain such large decreases in PAH concentrations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollution Environmental Monitoring Hydrocarbons Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Burning Air Monitoring Air Pollution Author Keywords: Air Pollution Automotive Emissions Biomass Burning California Emission Sources Environmental Monitoring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Residential Wood Burning Traffic-related Air Pollution

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• ISSN:
  1352-2310
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  242
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062544
• Citation:
  Atmos Environ 2020 Dec; 242:117818
• Contact Point Address:
  Elizabeth M. Noth, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way #5302, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA
• Email:
  bnoth@berkeley.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Berkeley
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Atmospheric Environment
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c6da8622636b287ae4144787a92263c346a18ad1102b233c90c9f46bc68d38f50fdcb2379ae1288fdf77fc8123958c8011dddab0beb04551eef68ec43351a8f9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225770/cdc_225770_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.04 MB ]