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Evaluation of Fine Particulate Matter Pollution Sources Affecting Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third largest growing industrialized city in the state of Texas. the prevailing air quality here is highly influenced by the industrialization and particulate matter 2.5µm (PM2.5) has been found to be one of the main pollutants in this region. Exposure to PM2.5 in elevated levels could cause respiratory problems and other health issues, some of which could be fatal. the current study dealt with the quantification and analysis of the sources of emission of PM2.5 and an emission inventory for PM2.5 was assessed. 24-hour average samples of PM2.5 were collected at two monitoring sites under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in Dallas, Dallas convention Centre (CAMS 312) and Dallas Hinton sites (CAMS 60). the data was collected from January 2003 to December 2009 and by using two positive matrix models PMF 2 and EPA PMF the PM2.5 source were identified. 9 sources were identified from CAMS 312 of which secondary sulfate (31% by PMF2 and 26% by EPA PMF) was found to be one of the major sources. Data from CAMS 60 enabled the identification of 8 sources by PMF2 and 9 by EPA PMF. These data also confirmed secondary sulfate (35% by PMF2 and 34% by EPA PMF) as the major source. to substantiate the sources identified, conditional probability function (CPF) was used. the influence of long range transport pollutants such as biomass burns from Mexico and Central America was found to be influencing the region of study and was assessed with the help of potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis. Weekend/weekday and seasonal analyses were useful in understanding the behavioral pattern of pollutants. Also an inter comparison of the model results were performed and EPA PMF results was found to be more robust and accurate than PMF 2 results.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc115142
Date05 1900
CreatorsPuthenparampil Koruth, Joseph
ContributorsJohn, Kuruvilla, Srivilliputhur, Srinivasan, Fortier, Aleksandra
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Puthenparampil Koruth, Joseph, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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