Particulate matter (PM) exposure for commuters in Los Angeles: Chemical characterization and implications to public health

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 570,000+ commuters in Los Angeles travel for over 60 minutes to work. Studies have shown that a substantial portion of particulate matter (PM) exposure can occur during this commute depending on the mode of transport. This thesis focuses on the PM exposure for commuters of four microenvironments in Los Angeles including subway, light-rail, freeways, and surface streets.;The first part of the thesis focuses on the subway and light-rail commute environments. Elevated concentrations of PM have been found in a number of worldwide underground transit systems, with major implications regarding exposure of commuters to PM and its associated health effects. An extensive sampling campaign was to measure PM concentrations in two lines of the Los Angeles Metro system - an underground subway line (Metro red line) and a ground-level light-rail line (Metro gold line). Considering that a commuter typically spent 75% of time inside the train and 25% of time waiting at a station, subway commuters were exposed on average to PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations that were 1.9 and 1.8 times greater than the light-rail commuters.;The second part of the thesis focuses on PM exposure for private commuters of freeways and surface streets. An on-road sampling campaign was conducted to assess on-road PM composition for three size fractions on three representative roadways in Los Angeles: 1) the I-110, a high-traffic freeway composed mostly of light-duty vehicles (LDVs), 2) the I-710, a major freeway for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) travelling to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and 3) Wilshire/Sunset Blvd, two major surface streets.;Next, fuel-based emission factors (mass of pollutant per kg of fuel) were calculated to assess the emissions profile of a light-duty vehicle (LDV) traffic fleet characterized by stop-and-go driving conditions that are reflective of urban street driving. Emission factors for metals and trace elements were highest in PM10-2.5 while emission factors for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and hopanes and steranes were highest in PM0.25. PM2.5 emission factors were also compared to previous freeway, roadway tunnel, and dynamometer studies based on an LDV fleet to determine how various environments and driving conditions may influence concentrations of PM components. The on-road sampling methodology deployed in the current study captured substantially higher levels of metals and trace elements associated with vehicular abrasion (Fe, Ca, Cu, and Ba) and crustal origins (Mg and Al) than previous LDV studies.;Lastly, PM exposures for all commute environments were compared using mass per volume of air as the metric of comparison. Metals associated with stainless steel, notably Fe, Cr, and Mn, were elevated for the red line (subway), most likely from abrasion processes between the rail and brakes; elements associated with tire and brake wear and oil additives (Ca, Ti, Sn, Sb, and Pb) were elevated on roadways. Elemental concentrations on the gold line (light-rail) were the lowest. Overall, the 710 exhibited high levels of PAHs (3.0 ng/m 3), most likely due to its high volume of HDVs, while the red and gold lines exhibited low PAH concentrations (0.6 and 0.8 ng/m3 for red and gold lines, respectively). Lastly, lung cancer risk due to inhalation of PAHs was calculated based on a commuter lifetime (45 years for 2 hours per workday). Results showed that lung cancer risk for the 710 is 3.8 and 4.5 times higher than the light-rail (gold line) and subway (red line), respectively. With low levels of both metals and PAH pollutants, our results indicate that commuting on the light-rail (gold line) may have potential health benefits when compared to driving on freeways and busy roadways. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).