Source apportionment of fine particulate matter in Houston, TX, using organic molecular markers

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) 2003-05, Vol.37 (15), p.2117-2123
• Main Authors: Fraser, M.P., Yue, Z.W., Buzcu, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Exact sciences and technology; Molecular markers; Organic speciation; PM 2.5 source apportionment; Pollutants physicochemistry study: properties, effects, reactions, transport and distribution; Pollution
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/S1352-2310(03)00075-X

Using ambient concentrations of molecular markers, chemical mass balancing calculations have been performed to estimate the contribution of source categories to ambient fine particle levels at four sites in Houston, TX. Eight source profiles obtained using analytical methods equivalent to the techniques used in analysis of the ambient sample were used for the calculations. The chemical mass balancing model accurately reconstructed the measured concentrations of 24 molecular markers and three fine particle chemical components to estimate the contribution of each source to ambient fine particle loads. The results show that at three sites in the Houston urban area, diesel exhausts contribute between 1.6 and 3.7 μg m −3 to ambient fine particle levels, while at an upwind background site, diesel exhausts represent 0.5 μg m −3 of ambient fine particulate matter. Other important sources include gasoline-powered vehicles (1.1–2.8 μg m −3 at three urban sites and 0.5 μg m −3 at the background site); paved road dusts (1.0–2.8 μg m −3 urban and 0.1 μg m −3 background); meat cooking operations (0.9–1.3 μg m −3 urban and 0.7 μg m −3 background) and wood combustion (0.2–0.3 μg m −3 urban and