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Intra-urban spatial variability in wintertime street-level concentrations of multiple combustion-related air pollutants: The New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS)

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 232–240 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Although intra-urban air pollution differs by season, few monitoring networks provide adequate geographic density and year-round coverage to fully characterize seasonal patterns. Here, we report winter intra-urban monitoring and land-use regression (LUR) results from the New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS). Two-week integrated samples of fine particles (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) were collected at 155 city-wide street-level locations during winter 2008–2009. Sites were selected using stratified random sampling, randomized across sampling sessions to minimize spatio-temporal confounding. LUR was used to identify GIS-based source indicators associated with higher concentrations. Prediction surfaces were produced using kriging with external drift. Each pollutant varied twofold or more across sites, with higher concentrations near midtown Manhattan. All pollutants were positively correlated, particularly PM2.5 and BC (Spearman’s r=0.84). Density of oil-burning boilers, total and truck traffic density, and temporality explained 84% of PM2.5 variation. Densities of total traffic, truck traffic, oil-burning boilers and industrial space, with temporality, explained 65% of BC variation. Temporality, built space, bus route location, and traffic density described 67% of nitrogen dioxide variation. Residual oil-burning units, nighttime population and temporality explained 77% of SO2 variation. Spatial variation in combustion-related pollutants in New York City was strongly associated with oil-burning and traffic density. Chronic exposure disparities and unique local sources can be identified through year-round saturation monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the many individuals who have contributed to the planning and implementation of NYCCAS, including Janice Kim, Bart Ostro, Michael Jerrett, Jonathan Levy, George Thurston, Patrick Kinney, Michael Brauer, James Bryan Jacobson, Hollie Kitson, Alyssa Benson, Andres Camacho, Jordan Werbe-Fuentes, Jonah Haviland-Markowitz, Rolando Munoz, Anna Tilles, Carter H. Strickland and Kizzy Charles-Guzman. This work was supported by the City of New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and NYC Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jane E Clougherty

  2. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA

    Iyad Kheirbek, Grant Pezeshki, Sarah Johnson, Daniel Kass & Thomas Matte

  3. Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, Flushing, New York, USA

    Holger M Eisl, John E Gorczynski & Steven Markowitz

  4. ZevRoss Spatial Analysis, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Zev Ross

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  1. Jane E Clougherty
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  2. Iyad Kheirbek
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  3. Holger M Eisl
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  4. Zev Ross
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  5. Grant Pezeshki
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  6. John E Gorczynski
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  10. Thomas Matte
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Correspondence to Jane E Clougherty.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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Clougherty, J., Kheirbek, I., Eisl, H. et al. Intra-urban spatial variability in wintertime street-level concentrations of multiple combustion-related air pollutants: The New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS). J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 232–240 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.125

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