title: Concentrations and source characteristics of airborne carbonyl compounds measured outside urban residences.
abstract: This paper presents the analysis of ambient air concentrations of 10 carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones) measured in the yards of 87 residences in the city of Elizabeth, NJ, throughout 1999-2001. Most of these residences were measured twice in different seasons; the sampling duration was 48 hr each time. The authors observed higher concentrations for most of the measured carbonyl compounds on warmer days, reflecting larger contributions of photochemical reactions on warmer days. The estimated contributions of photochemical production varied substantially across the measured carbonyl compounds and could be as high as 60%. Photochemical activity, however, resulted in a net loss for formaldehyde. The authors used stepwise multiple linear regression models to evaluate the impact of traffic sources and meteorological conditions on carbonyl concentrations using the data collected on colder days (with lower photochemical activities). They found that the concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, propionaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, benzaldehyde, glyoxal, and methylglyoxal significantly decreased with increasing distance between a measured residence and one or more major roadways. They also found significant negative associations between concentrations for most of the measured carbonyl compounds and each of the following meteorological parameters: mixing height, wind speed, and precipitation.
authors.affiliation: Joint Graduate Program in Exposure Assessment, Rutgers University, Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Weili
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jaymin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Clifford
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weisel
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Turpin
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Korn
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morandi
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stock
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colome
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000465:Algorithms; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009515:New Jersey; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D009930:Organic Chemicals