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ABSTRACT
Communities near transportation sources can be impacted by higher concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants. Few studies have reported on air quality in complex urban environments with multiple transportation sources. To better understand these environments, the Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS) was conducted in three neighborhoods in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas. This area has several emissions sources including transportation (railyards, vehicles, diesel trucks), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. Stationary samples were collected for 1-year (October 24, 2017, to October 31, 2018) at six sites using traditional sampling methods and lower-cost air sensor packages. This work examines PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and trace metals data collected during KC-TRAQS. PM2.5 filter samples showed the highest 24-h mean concentrations (9.34 μg/m3) at the sites located within 20–50 m of the railyard. Mean 24-h PM2.5 concentrations, ranging from 7.96 to 9.34 μg/m3, at all sites were lower than that of the nearby regulatory site (9.83 μg/m3). Daily maximum PM2.5 concentrations were higher at the KC-TRAQS sites (ranging from 25.31 to 43.76 μg/m3) compared to the regulatory site (20.50 μg/m3), suggesting short-duration impacts of localized emissions sources. Across the KC-TRAQS sites, 24-h averaged PM2.5 concentrations from the sensor package (P-POD) ranged from 3.24 to 5.69 µg/m3 showing that, out-of-the-box, the PM sensor underestimated the reference concentrations. KC-TRAQS was supplemented by elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) and trace metal analysis of filter samples. The EC/OC data suggested the presence of secondary organic aerosol formation, with the highest mean concentrations observed at the site within 20 m of the railyard. Trace metals data showed daily, monthly, and seasonal variations for iron, copper, zinc, chromium, and nickel, with elevated concentrations occurring during the summer at most of the sites.
Implications: This work reports on findings from a year-long air quality study in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas to understand micro-scale air quality in neighborhoods impacted by multiple emissions sources such as transportation sources (including a large railyard operation), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. While dozens of studies have reported on air quality near roadways, this work will provide more information on PM2.5, black carbon, and trace metals concentrations near other transportation sources in particular railyards. This work can also inform additional field studies near railyards.
Acknowledgment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Research and Development (ORD), funded the research described here under Contract No. EP-C-15-008 and Contract No. 68HERC20D0018 both with Jacobs Technology, Inc. The authors acknowledge EPA staff, including Bakul Patel for assistance with laboratory sample analysis, and Dr Andrea Clements and Dr Ali Kamal for reviewing this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The data presented in this paper will be openly available in EPA’s ScienceHub Repository (https://sciencehub.epa.gov/sciencehub).
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2024.2365708
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Notes on contributors
Rachelle M. Duvall
Rachelle M. Duvall is an Environmental Engineer in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
Evelyn S. Kimbrough
Evelyn S. Kimbrough is a retired Environmental Engineer from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
Stephen Krabbe
Stephen Krabbe is a Senior Air Quality Scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7.
Parikshit Deshmukh
Parikshit Deshmukh is Vice President and Senior Engineer at Eastern Research Group.
Richard W. Baldauf
Richard W. Baldauf is a Research Physical Scientist in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
Lydia H. Brouwer
Lydia H. Brouwer is a Senior Scientist at Jacobs Technology, Inc.
Timothy McArthur
Timothy McArthur is an Engineer at Jacobs Technology, Inc.
Carry Croghan
Carry Croghan is a Mathematical Statistician in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
Joshua Varga
Joshua Varga is a Scientist at Jacobs Technology, Inc.
Matthew Brown
Matthew Brown is a Program Analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7.
Michael Davis
Michael Davis is a Branch Chief at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7.