PM{sub 2.5} mass measurements and chemical speciation in the south central United States
As the monitoring and regulatory implementation schedules for the revised particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) evolve, it becomes ever more evident that the new NAAQS metrics for fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 mm [PM{sub 2.5}]) will be difficult for many parts of the country to attain. The need to better understand the composition and temporal and spatial distribution of fine particles (PM{sub 2.5}) is broadly supported within regulatory, industry and the research communities. Given the potential consequences of the revised PM NAAQS, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Tennessee Valley state and local regulatory organizations initiated the operation of the first comprehensive regional prototype-Federal Reference Method (FRM) PM{sub 2.5} monitoring network in the eastern US on Earth Day (April 22) 1997. Three core sampling stations in Nashville, Knoxville, and Lawrence County TN initiated every third-day sampling. Five additional sites were added in Chattanooga and Memphis TN (August 1997), Decatur AL and Paducah KY (October 1997), and Huntsville, AL (June 1998). The ongoing assessment of these data lead to the following conclusions: With the exception of the rural Lawrence County TN station, the remaining seven urban monitoring stations have exceeded or will likely exceed the level of the annual PM{sub 2.5} metric of 15 micrograms per cubic meter ({micro}g/m{sup 3}). None of the stations exceeded the 65 {micro}g/m{sup 3} level of the 24-hour PM{sub 2.5} metric. The average ratio of prototype FRM PM{sub 2.5} to collocated FRM PM{sub 10} mass measurements is 0.65. Based on composition estimates from both Teflon and quartz fiber filters, inorganic sulfate and organic and elemental carbon compounds comprise the largest fractions of PM{sub 2.5} mass. Sulfate provides the largest fraction ({approx} 50%) in background air (Lawrence County) with organic and elemental carbon making up next largest fraction ({approx} 33%).
- OSTI ID:
- 20002072
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-990608-; TRN: IM200002%%72
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Air and Waste 92nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, St. Louis, MO (US), 06/20/1999--06/24/1999; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating Systems: Windows 3.1, '95, '98 and NT; Macintosh; and UNIX; PBD: 1999; Related Information: In: Air and Waste 92nd annual meeting and exhibition proceedings, [9500] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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