Public health and components of particulate matter: The changing assessment of black carbon

Figures & data

Table 1. Average concentrations and EC/PM_2.5 ratios for several U.S. cities

Site	EC/PM2.5 (%)	PM2.5 (μg/m^3)	OC (μg/m^3)	EC (μg/m^3)
Atlanta, GA	9.8	14.3	3.2	1.3
Baltimore, MD	7.2	12.7	2.0	0.8
Birmingham, AL	9.1	14.3	3.2	1.3
Detroit, MI	8.0	13.2	2.5	0.8
Fresno, CA	6.5	13.4	3.0	0.9
Houston, TX	5.7	10.6	1.8	0.6
New York, NY	13.7	11.7	2.0	1.4
Phoenix, AZ	8.8	9.7	2.4	0.9
Puget Sound/Seattle, WA	11.3	7.1	2.2	0.8
Rubidoux, CA	10.3	17.0	3.0	1.5
Washington DC	8.8	14.3	2.5	1.1

Notes: From the IMPROVE data base (CIRA, 2014). Data series ranges from 2 years at Atlanta, GA, and Rubidoux, CA, to 25 years at Washington, DC. PM_2.5 was measured consistently by gravimetry (Eldred et al., 1990) and OC/EC were measured consistently by the IMPROVE Thermal/Optical Reflectance Method (Chow et al., 1993, 2007, 2011) since 2007 at the EPA urban Chemical Speciation Network.

Figure 1. PM deposits on Teflon-membrane filters, indicating an array of different colors. Dust samples were dried, sieved, and sampled onto filters through size-selective inlets (Chow et al., 1994). Acetylene and PALAS soot generators have been developed for BC standardization and exposure studies (Evans et al., 2003; Frenklach et al., 1986; Mendiara et al., 2005). Filters were retrieved from DRI sample archive.

Figure 2. Hourly average PM_2.5 measured at urban- and neighborhood-scale monitors separated by 5.5 km in Nevada’s Truckee Meadows from 1/1/2012 through 2/13/2013. The neighborhood-scale site is surrounded by residences, many of which use wood for heating, while the urban-scale site is in a commercial district (Chen et al., 2012b).

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