Neighborhood-scale air quality impacts of emissions from motor vehicles and aircraft

A mobile monitoring platform (MMP) was used to measure real-time air pollutant concentrations in different built environments of Boyle Heights (BH, a lower-income community enclosed by several freeways); Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA, adjacent to BH with taller buildings and surrounded by several freeways); and West Los Angeles (WLA, an affluent community traversed by two freeways) in summer afternoons of 2008 and 2011 (only for WLA). Significant inter-community and less significant but observable intra-community differences in traffic-related pollutant concentrations were observed both in the residential neighborhoods studied and on their arterial roadways between BH, DTLA, and WLA, particularly for ultrafine particles (UFP). HEV, defined as vehicles creating plumes with concentrations more than three standard deviations from the adjusted local baseline, were encountered during 6–13% of sampling time, during which they accounted for 17–55% of total UFP concentrations both on arterial roadways and in residential neighborhoods. If instead a single threshold value is used to define HEVs in all areas, HEV's were calculated to make larger contributions to UFP concentrations in BH than other communities by factors of 2–10 or more. Santa Monica Airport located in WLA appears to be a significant source for elevated UFP concentrations in nearby residential neighborhoods 80–400 m downwind. In the WLA area, we also showed, on a neighborhood scale, striking and immediate reductions in particulate pollution (∼70% reductions in both UFP and, somewhat surprisingly, PM2.5), corresponding to dramatic decreases in traffic densities during an I-405 closure event (“Carmageddon”) compared to non-closure Saturday levels. Although pollution reduction due to decreased traffic is not unexpected, this dramatic improvement in particulate pollution provides clear evidence air quality can be improved through strategies such as heavy-duty-diesel vehicle retrofits, earlier retirement of HEV, and transition to electric vehicles and alternative fuels, with corresponding benefits for public health.