Conditions Leading to Elevated PM2.5 at Near-Road Monitoring Sites: Case Studies in Denver and Indianapolis

Abstract

We examined two near-road monitoring sites where the daily PM_2.5 readings were among the highest of any near-road monitoring location in the U.S. during 2014-2016: Denver, Colorado, in February 2014 and Indianapolis, Indiana, in November 2016. At the Denver site, which had the highest measured U.S. near-road 24-hr PM_2.5 concentrations in 2014, concentrations exceeded the daily National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on three days during one week in 2014; the Indianapolis site had the second-highest number of daily exceedances of any near-road site in 2016 and the highest 3-year average PM_2.5 of any near-road site during 2014-2016. Both sites had hourly pollutant, meteorological, and traffic data available, making them ideal for case studies. For both locations, we compared air pollution observations at the near-road site to observations at other sites in the urban area to calculate the near-road PM_2.5 "increment" and evaluated the effects of changes in meteorology and traffic. The Denver near-road site consistently had the highest PM_2.5 values in the Denver area, and was typically highest when winds were near-downwind, rather than directly downwind, to the freeway. Complex Denver site conditions (near-road buildings and roadway alignment) likely contributed to higher PM_2.5 concentrations. The increment at Indianapolis was also highest under near-downwind, rather than directly downwind, conditions. At both sites, while the near-road site often had higher PM_2.5 concentrations than nearby sites, there was no clear correlation between traffic conditions (vehicle speed, fleet mix) and the high PM_2.5 concentrations.