Reduced PM2.5 in Trujillo, Peru, on El Dia Sin Autos ("The Day Without Cars").
Street-level and rooftop (three-story building) concentrations of particulate matter < or = 2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5) were measured in downtown Trujillo, Peru, in July and August 2003 to determine the PM2.5 concentration reduction on days with normal traffic conditions (32 days) versus a day when motor vehicles were temporarily banned from the downtown district (8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., July 15) known as El Dia Sin Autos ("The Day Without Cars"). The mean 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. street-level PM2.5 concentration during the motor vehicle ban (21.4 microg/m3; one day) was 49% lower than when vehicles were not impeded (42.2 +/- 7.8 microg/m3--mean +/- 1 standard deviation; 20 days). The rooftop monitoring station indicated a 20% decrease in PM2.5 concentrations (24.8 +/- 2.6 microg/m3 vs. 19.9 +/- 6.0 microg/m3) when motor vehicles were not present within historic downtown Trujillo. Temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed during the motor vehicle ban and during normal traffic were not significantly different (p > .05).
Cassidy
Brandon E
BE
The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Science, Athens, GA 30602-2102, USA.
Aguilar-Villalobos
Manuel
M
Ryan
P Barry
PB
Naeher
Luke P
LP
D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D010568:Peru; D014505:Urban Population; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control*
D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions