BACKGROUND In time-series studies of the health effects of urban air pollutants, decisions must be made about how to characterize pollutant levels within the airshed. METHODS Emergency department visits for pediatric asthma exacerbations were collected from Atlanta hospitals. Concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter less than 10 microns in...

First-time measurements of the potentially toxic inorganic species of arsenic (arsenite and arsenate) have been obtained in fine (less than 2.5 microns AD) and coarse (greater than 2.5 microns AD) atmospheric particles in the Los Angeles area. A recently developed method that includes procedures for sample collection, preparation, and analysis was used in this study. Size-fractionated aerosol s...

[1] Knowledge of the size‐ and composition‐dependent production flux of primary sea spray aerosol (SSA) particles and its dependence on environmental variables is required for modeling cloud microphysical properties and aerosol radiative influences, interpreting measurements of particulate matter in coastal areas and its relation to air quality, and evaluating rates of uptake and reactions of g...

The San Joaquin Valley of California has poor air quality and high rates of asthma. Surveys were collected from 744 residents of the San Joaquin Valley from November 2014 to January 2015 to examine the public's views about air quality. The results of this study suggest that participants exposed to high PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size) concentrations perceived air polluti...

Air quality modeling could potentially improve exposure estimates for use in epidemiological studies. We investigated this application of air quality modeling by estimating location-specific (point) and spatially-aggregated (county level) exposure concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) and ozone (O(3)) for the eastern U.S. in 200...

Long-term field comparisons of continuous and integrated filter measurements of mass concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 microm (PM2.5) were performed at rural and urban sites in New York State. Two versions of the continuous tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) mass monitor are deployed at each site, in addition to Federal...

We present the first measurements of nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the surface Bay of Bengal (BOB) at 24 different locations during pre(April–May 2003) and post(September– October 2002) monsoon seasons. The δ15N values of particulate organic nitrogen (PON) in surface suspended matter of coastal and northern open BOB show mixing between continental...

We read with interest the article by Anderson et al. (1) in which the authors investigated whether the ozone-mortality relationship is confounded by 7 components (sulfate, nitrate, silicon, elemental carbon, organic carbon matter, sodium, and ammonium) of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5) across 56–57 communities in the United States. They conc...