Operational Evaluation of the RLINE Dispersion Model for Studies of Traffic-Related Air Pollutants

Details

• Personal Author:
  Batterman SA ; Milando CW
• Description:
  Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) remains a key public health issue, and improved exposure measures are needed to support health impact and epidemiologic studies and inform regulatory responses. The recently developed Research LINE source model (RLINE), a Gaussian line source dispersion model, has been used in several epidemiologic studies of TRAP exposure, but evaluations of RLINE's performance in such applications have been limited. This study provides an operational evaluation of RLINE in which predictions of NOx, CO and PM2.5 are compared to observations at air quality monitoring stations located near high traffic roads in Detroit, MI. For CO and NOx, model performance was best at sites close to major roads, during downwind conditions, during weekdays, and during certain seasons. For PM2.5, the ability to discern local and particularly the traffic-related portion was limited, a result of high background levels, the sparseness of the monitoring network, and large uncertainties for certain processes (e.g., formation of secondary aerosols) and non-mobile sources (e.g., area, fugitive). Overall, RLINE's performance in near-road environments suggests its usefulness for estimating spatially- and temporally-resolved exposures. The study highlights considerations relevant to health impact and epidemiologic applications, including the importance of selecting appropriate pollutants, using appropriate monitoring approaches, considering prevailing wind directions during study design, and accounting for uncertainty. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Pollutants Air Pollution Air Quality Measurement Author Keywords: RLINE Automotive Emissions Climatic Factors Dispersion Model Environmental Monitoring Exposure Exposure Levels Model Evaluation Particulates

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• ISSN:
  1352-2310
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  213-224
• Volume:
  182
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062842
• Citation:
  Atmos Environ 2018 Jun; 182:213-224
• Contact Point Address:
  Stuart A. Batterman, Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, 48109, MI
• Email:
  Stuartb@umich.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Nitrous oxide (CAS RN 10024-97-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Atmospheric Environment
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d12f997e27fe1bd5435ff615b2ab33cbd5923f06ca33198ed1c2c1fd2092eee7b6270b4cf784250532143332d3bb953011b34f1395e870686727fe2f6a1fcbbe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226019/cdc_226019_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.87 MB ]