The impact of a building implosion on airborne particulate matter in an urban community.
In response to community concerns, the air quality impact of imploding a 22-story building in east Baltimore, MD, was studied. Time- and space-resolved concentrations of indoor and outdoor particulate matter (PM) (nominally 0.5-10 microm) were measured using a portable nephelometer at seven and four locations, respectively. PM10 levels varied in time and space; there was no measurable effect observed upwind of the implosion. The downwind peak PM10 levels varied with distance (54,000-589 microg/m3) exceeding pre-implosion levels for sites 100 and 1130 m 3000- and 20-fold, respectively. Estimated outdoor 24-hr integrated mass concentrations varied from 15 to 72 microg/m3. The implosion did not result in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM10 being exceeded. X-ray fluorescence analysis indicated that the elemental composition was dominated by crustal elements: calcium (57%), silicon (23%), aluminum (7.6%), and iron (6.1%). Lead was above background but at a low level (0.17 microg/m3). Peak PM10 concentrations were short-lived; most sites returned to background within 15 min. No increase in indoor PM10 was observed even at the most proximate 250 m location. These results demonstrate that a building implosion can have a severe but short-lived impact on community air quality. Effective protection is offered by being indoors or upwind.
Beck
Christopher M
CM
Center for Urban Environmental Health, John Hopkins Medical Institutions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Geyh
Alison
A
Srinivasan
Arjun
A
Breysse
Patrick N
PN
Eggleston
Peyton A
PA
Buckley
Timothy J
TJ
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D003252:Construction Materials; D005107:Explosions; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006801:Humans; D010316:Particle Size; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014919:Wind
D000393:Air Pollutants