Two-stroke scooters are a dominant source of air pollution in many cities.
Fossil fuel-powered vehicles emit significant particulate matter, for example, black carbon and primary organic aerosol, and produce secondary organic aerosol. Here we quantify secondary organic aerosol production from two-stroke scooters. Cars and trucks, particularly diesel vehicles, are thought to be the main vehicular pollution sources. This needs re-thinking, as we show that elevated particulate matter levels can be a consequence of 'asymmetric pollution' from two-stroke scooters, vehicles that constitute a small fraction of the fleet, but can dominate urban vehicular pollution through organic aerosol and aromatic emission factors up to thousands of times higher than from other vehicle classes. Further, we demonstrate that oxidation processes producing secondary organic aerosol from vehicle exhaust also form potentially toxic 'reactive oxygen species'.
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
S M
SM
Platt
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
I El
IE
Haddad
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
S M
SM
Pieber
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
R-J
RJ
Huang
European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, 21027 Ispra, Italy.
A A
AA
Zardini
1] European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, 21027 Ispra, Italy [2].
M
M
Clairotte
European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, 21027 Ispra, Italy.
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R
Suarez-Bertoa
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
P
P
Barmet
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
L
L
Pfaffenberger
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
R
R
Wolf
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
J G
JG
Slowik
Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
S J
SJ
Fuller
Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
M
M
Kalberer
1] Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland [2].
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R
Chirico
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
J
J
Dommen
European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, 21027 Ispra, Italy.
C
C
Astorga
1] Cooperation Group comprehensive molecular analytics/Joint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany [2] Chair of Analytical Chemistry/Joint Mass Spectrometry Centre, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany.
R
R
Zimmermann
Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LCE FRE 3416, 13331 Marseille, France.
N
N
Marchand
Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LCE FRE 3416, 13331 Marseille, France.
S
S
Hellebust
Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LCE FRE 3416, 13331 Marseille, France.
B
B
Temime-Roussel
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
U
U
Baltensperger
Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
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Prévôt
D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D001208:Asia; D002947:Cities; D005060:Europe; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D006801:Humans; D009049:Motorcycles; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000032:analysis*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
D000336:Aerosols; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D052638:Particulate Matter; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D001335:Vehicle Emissions