Concentrations of fine, ultrafine, and black carbon particles in auto-rickshaws in New Delhi, India

Joshua S. Apte; Thomas W. Kirchstetter; Alexander H. Reich; Shyam J. Deshpande; Geetanjali Kaushik; Arvind Chel; Julian D. Marshall; William W. Nazaroff

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.05.028

Concentrations of fine, ultrafine, and black carbon particles in auto-rickshaws in New Delhi, India

Joshua S. Apte, Thomas W. Kirchstetter, Alexander H. Reich, Shyam J. Deshpande, Geetanjali Kaushik, Arvind Chel, Julian D. Marshall, William W. Nazaroff

Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

178 Scopus citations

Abstract

Concentrations of air pollutants from vehicles are elevated along roadways, indicating that human exposure in transportation microenvironments may not be adequately characterized by centrally located monitors. We report results from ∼180 h of real-time measurements of fine particle and black carbon mass concentration (PM_2.5, BC) and ultrafine particle number concentration (PN) inside a common vehicle, the auto-rickshaw, in New Delhi, India. Measured exposure concentrations are much higher in this study (geometric mean for ∼60 trip-averaged concentrations: 190 μg m^-3 PM_2.5, 42 μg m^-3 BC, 280 × 10³ particles cm^-3; GSD ∼1.3 for all three pollutants) than reported for transportation microenvironments in other megacities. In-vehicle concentrations exceeded simultaneously measured ambient levels by 1.5× for PM_2.5, 3.6× for BC, and 8.4× for PN. Short-duration peak concentrations (averaging time: 10 s), attributable to exhaust plumes of nearby vehicles, were greater than 300 μg m^-3 for PM_2.5, 85 μg m^-3 for BC, and 650 × 10³ particles cm^-3 for PN. The incremental increase of within-vehicle concentration above ambient levels-which we attribute to in- and near-roadway emission sources-accounted for 30%, 68% and 86% of time-averaged in-vehicle PM_2.5, BC and PN concentrations, respectively. Based on these results, we estimate that one's exposure during a daily commute by auto-rickshaw in Delhi is as least as large as full-day exposures experienced by urban residents of many high-income countries. This study illuminates an environmental health concern that may be common in many populous, low-income cities.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	4470-4480
Number of pages	11
Journal	Atmospheric Environment
Volume	45
Issue number	26
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.05.028
State	Published - Aug 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank A. Sagar and G. Tiwari for hosting one of us (JSA) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi during field research. We thank M. Apte, J. Blair, M. Brauer, A. Grieshop, L. Gundel, S. Guttikunda, O. Hadley, T. Hansen, M. Lunden, C. Reynolds, and K. Smith for technical assistance and feedback. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the efforts of our research assistant Phoolchand. Efforts by JSA were partially supported by a Fulbright-Nehru grant from the US-India Educational Foundation and by the US Environmental Protection Agency under the EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. The funding agencies neither reject nor endorse the conclusions and the views expressed herein.

Keywords

Exposure
Megacity
Microenvironment
Particulate matter
Transportation
Urban air quality

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.05.028

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title = "Concentrations of fine, ultrafine, and black carbon particles in auto-rickshaws in New Delhi, India",

abstract = "Concentrations of air pollutants from vehicles are elevated along roadways, indicating that human exposure in transportation microenvironments may not be adequately characterized by centrally located monitors. We report results from ∼180 h of real-time measurements of fine particle and black carbon mass concentration (PM2.5, BC) and ultrafine particle number concentration (PN) inside a common vehicle, the auto-rickshaw, in New Delhi, India. Measured exposure concentrations are much higher in this study (geometric mean for ∼60 trip-averaged concentrations: 190 μg m-3 PM2.5, 42 μg m-3 BC, 280 × 103 particles cm-3; GSD ∼1.3 for all three pollutants) than reported for transportation microenvironments in other megacities. In-vehicle concentrations exceeded simultaneously measured ambient levels by 1.5× for PM2.5, 3.6× for BC, and 8.4× for PN. Short-duration peak concentrations (averaging time: 10 s), attributable to exhaust plumes of nearby vehicles, were greater than 300 μg m-3 for PM2.5, 85 μg m-3 for BC, and 650 × 103 particles cm-3 for PN. The incremental increase of within-vehicle concentration above ambient levels-which we attribute to in- and near-roadway emission sources-accounted for 30%, 68% and 86% of time-averaged in-vehicle PM2.5, BC and PN concentrations, respectively. Based on these results, we estimate that one's exposure during a daily commute by auto-rickshaw in Delhi is as least as large as full-day exposures experienced by urban residents of many high-income countries. This study illuminates an environmental health concern that may be common in many populous, low-income cities.",

keywords = "Exposure, Megacity, Microenvironment, Particulate matter, Transportation, Urban air quality",

author = "Apte, {Joshua S.} and Kirchstetter, {Thomas W.} and Reich, {Alexander H.} and Deshpande, {Shyam J.} and Geetanjali Kaushik and Arvind Chel and Marshall, {Julian D.} and Nazaroff, {William W.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors thank A. Sagar and G. Tiwari for hosting one of us (JSA) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi during field research. We thank M. Apte, J. Blair, M. Brauer, A. Grieshop, L. Gundel, S. Guttikunda, O. Hadley, T. Hansen, M. Lunden, C. Reynolds, and K. Smith for technical assistance and feedback. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the efforts of our research assistant Phoolchand. Efforts by JSA were partially supported by a Fulbright-Nehru grant from the US-India Educational Foundation and by the US Environmental Protection Agency under the EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. The funding agencies neither reject nor endorse the conclusions and the views expressed herein. ",

year = "2011",

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language = "English (US)",

volume = "45",

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journal = "Atmospheric Environment",

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T1 - Concentrations of fine, ultrafine, and black carbon particles in auto-rickshaws in New Delhi, India

AU - Apte, Joshua S.

AU - Kirchstetter, Thomas W.

AU - Reich, Alexander H.

AU - Deshpande, Shyam J.

AU - Kaushik, Geetanjali

AU - Chel, Arvind

AU - Marshall, Julian D.

AU - Nazaroff, William W.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank A. Sagar and G. Tiwari for hosting one of us (JSA) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi during field research. We thank M. Apte, J. Blair, M. Brauer, A. Grieshop, L. Gundel, S. Guttikunda, O. Hadley, T. Hansen, M. Lunden, C. Reynolds, and K. Smith for technical assistance and feedback. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the efforts of our research assistant Phoolchand. Efforts by JSA were partially supported by a Fulbright-Nehru grant from the US-India Educational Foundation and by the US Environmental Protection Agency under the EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. The funding agencies neither reject nor endorse the conclusions and the views expressed herein.

PY - 2011/8

Y1 - 2011/8

N2 - Concentrations of air pollutants from vehicles are elevated along roadways, indicating that human exposure in transportation microenvironments may not be adequately characterized by centrally located monitors. We report results from ∼180 h of real-time measurements of fine particle and black carbon mass concentration (PM2.5, BC) and ultrafine particle number concentration (PN) inside a common vehicle, the auto-rickshaw, in New Delhi, India. Measured exposure concentrations are much higher in this study (geometric mean for ∼60 trip-averaged concentrations: 190 μg m-3 PM2.5, 42 μg m-3 BC, 280 × 103 particles cm-3; GSD ∼1.3 for all three pollutants) than reported for transportation microenvironments in other megacities. In-vehicle concentrations exceeded simultaneously measured ambient levels by 1.5× for PM2.5, 3.6× for BC, and 8.4× for PN. Short-duration peak concentrations (averaging time: 10 s), attributable to exhaust plumes of nearby vehicles, were greater than 300 μg m-3 for PM2.5, 85 μg m-3 for BC, and 650 × 103 particles cm-3 for PN. The incremental increase of within-vehicle concentration above ambient levels-which we attribute to in- and near-roadway emission sources-accounted for 30%, 68% and 86% of time-averaged in-vehicle PM2.5, BC and PN concentrations, respectively. Based on these results, we estimate that one's exposure during a daily commute by auto-rickshaw in Delhi is as least as large as full-day exposures experienced by urban residents of many high-income countries. This study illuminates an environmental health concern that may be common in many populous, low-income cities.

AB - Concentrations of air pollutants from vehicles are elevated along roadways, indicating that human exposure in transportation microenvironments may not be adequately characterized by centrally located monitors. We report results from ∼180 h of real-time measurements of fine particle and black carbon mass concentration (PM2.5, BC) and ultrafine particle number concentration (PN) inside a common vehicle, the auto-rickshaw, in New Delhi, India. Measured exposure concentrations are much higher in this study (geometric mean for ∼60 trip-averaged concentrations: 190 μg m-3 PM2.5, 42 μg m-3 BC, 280 × 103 particles cm-3; GSD ∼1.3 for all three pollutants) than reported for transportation microenvironments in other megacities. In-vehicle concentrations exceeded simultaneously measured ambient levels by 1.5× for PM2.5, 3.6× for BC, and 8.4× for PN. Short-duration peak concentrations (averaging time: 10 s), attributable to exhaust plumes of nearby vehicles, were greater than 300 μg m-3 for PM2.5, 85 μg m-3 for BC, and 650 × 103 particles cm-3 for PN. The incremental increase of within-vehicle concentration above ambient levels-which we attribute to in- and near-roadway emission sources-accounted for 30%, 68% and 86% of time-averaged in-vehicle PM2.5, BC and PN concentrations, respectively. Based on these results, we estimate that one's exposure during a daily commute by auto-rickshaw in Delhi is as least as large as full-day exposures experienced by urban residents of many high-income countries. This study illuminates an environmental health concern that may be common in many populous, low-income cities.

KW - Exposure

KW - Megacity

KW - Microenvironment

KW - Particulate matter

KW - Transportation

KW - Urban air quality

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VL - 45

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JO - Atmospheric Environment

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ER -

Concentrations of fine, ultrafine, and black carbon particles in auto-rickshaws in New Delhi, India

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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