Relation of wind direction and coal terminal activity patterns with air pollution burden in a community bordering a coal export terminal, Curtis Bay, Maryland, USA.
Lauren N Deanes, Bonita D Salmerón, Matthew A Aubourg, Laura E Schmidt, Kristoffer Spicer, Caila Wagar, Gregory G Sawtell, Carlos C Sanchez-Gonzalez, David Jones, Angela Shaneyfelt, David H Hagan, David McClosky, Nicholas J Spada, Russell R Dickerson, Vivek Ravichandran, Sacoby M Wilson, Anik Burman, Abhirup Datta, Christopher D Heaney
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Residents of Curtis Bay, South Baltimore, Maryland living near an open-air coal terminal have raised concerns about dark dust in their community. Coal particles have been detected in this dark dust, however, the relationship between coal terminal activity and air pollution in Curtis Bay remains unclear. This study aimed to determine how air quality varied in relation to changes in wind direction and observed coal terminal activity. We measured particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10, total suspended particles) and black carbon (BC) concurrently with wind direction and visible coal terminal bulldozer activity (camera-based) at equivalent 1-minute time scales. We used conditional fixed-effects regression models to evaluate relationships between local air pollution and (1) wind direction and (2) visible bulldozer activity on coal piles. From July 5, 2022-July 16, 2023, a ten-node air monitoring network collected 2,121,793 PM and 360,325 BC 1-minute records. When downwind of the coal terminal versus not downwind, PM was 0.66 to 5.3 μg/m3 higher (p < 0.0001) and BC was 0.11 μg/m3 higher (95% CI = 0.10, 0.12). When bulldozer activity was visible versus not visible, PM was 0.49 to 2.2 μg/m3 higher (p < 0.001) and BC was 0.09 μg/m3 higher (95% CI = 0.08, 0.10). The associations between bulldozer activity and air pollutant concentrations were ~ 2.0-2.8 times higher downwind of the coal terminal versus not (all p-interaction < 0.001). PM and BC air pollution was greater in Curtis Bay when downwind of and when bulldozer activity was visible at the coal terminal, and highest when both occurred jointly. Mitigation strategies appear warranted to reduce PM and BC air pollution burden associated with coal terminal activities in Curtis Bay.
期刊介绍:
Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health is a multidisciplinary journal which, by its very name, illustrates the broad range of work it publishes and which focuses on atmospheric consequences of human activities and their implications for human and ecological health.
It offers research papers, critical literature reviews and commentaries, as well as special issues devoted to topical subjects or themes.
International in scope, the journal presents papers that inform and stimulate a global readership, as the topic addressed are global in their import. Consequently, we do not encourage submission of papers involving local data that relate to local problems. Unless they demonstrate wide applicability, these are better submitted to national or regional journals.
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health addresses such topics as acid precipitation; airborne particulate matter; air quality monitoring and management; exposure assessment; risk assessment; indoor air quality; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modeling and prediction; air pollution climatology; climate change and air quality; air pollution measurement; atmospheric impact assessment; forest-fire emissions; atmospheric science; greenhouse gases; health and ecological effects; clean air technology; regional and global change and satellite measurements.
This journal benefits a diverse audience of researchers, public health officials and policy makers addressing problems that call for solutions based in evidence from atmospheric and exposure assessment scientists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors. Publication in the journal affords the opportunity to reach beyond defined disciplinary niches to this broader readership.