Aerosols Near Urban Street Intersections

Abstract

Aerosol samples were collected using stacked filter units at two urban intersections in Texas. The TSP levels, as measured by stacked filter units (SFU), were generally in the range of 30-120 μg/m³. The contribution of traffic to the TSP by SFU was in the range of 10-60 μg/m³. Vertical TSP concentrations by SFU at the intersection with tall buildings were almost constant for each sampling period. Horizontal fine aerosols also were almost constant. The coarse aerosols increased significantly across the intersection. The fine lead profiles showed that the street traffic was a significant source of fine lead. Selected element ratios showed that the coarse aerosols were strongly soil and building construction related and that the fine aerosols were strongly traffic related.