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Long-range fine particulate matter from the 2002 Quebec forest fires and daily mortality in Greater Boston and New York City.

ABSTRACT: During July 2002, forest fires in Quebec, Canada, blanketed the US East Coast with a plume of wood smoke. This "natural experiment" exposed large populations in northeastern US cities to significantly elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), providing a unique opportunity to test the association between daily mortality and ambient PM_2.5 levels that are uncorrelated with societal activity rhythms. We obtained PM_2.5 measurement data and mortality data for a 4-week period in July 2002 for the Greater Boston metropolitan area (which has a population of over 1.7 million people) and New York City (which has a population of over 8 million people). Daily average PM_2.5 concentrations were markedly increased for 3 days over this period, reaching as high as 63 μg/m³ for Greater Boston and 86 μg/m³ for New York City from background ambient levels of 4-48 μg/m³ in the non-smoke days. We examined temporal patterns of natural-cause deaths and 24-h ambient PM_2.5 concentrations in July 2002 and did not observe any discernible increase in daily mortality subsequent to the dramatic elevation in ambient PM_2.5 levels. Comparison to mortality rates over the same time periods in 2001 and 2003 showed no evidence of impact. Results from Poisson regression analyses suggest that 24-h ambient PM_2.5 concentrations were not associated with daily mortality. In conclusion, substantial short-term elevation in PM_2.5 concentrations from forest fire smoke were not followed by increased daily mortality in Greater Boston or New York City.

SUBMITTER: Zu K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4837205 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Identifying the sources, composition, and temporal variability of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) particles is a crucial component in understanding particulate matter (PM) toxicity and establishing proper PM regulations. In this study, a Harvard Impactor was used to collect daily integrated fine and coarse particle samples every third day for 9 years at a single site in Boston, MA. In total, 1,960 filters were analyzed for elements, black carbon (BC), and total PM mass. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was used to identify source types and quantify their contributions to ambient PM2.5 and PM2.5-10. BC and 17 elements were identified as the main constituents in our samples. Results showed that BC, S, and Pb were associated exclusively with the fine particle mode, while 84% of V and 79% of Ni were associated with this mode. Elements mostly found in the coarse mode, over 80%, included Ca, Mn (road dust), and Cl (sea salt). PMF identified six source types for PM2.5 and three source types for PM2.5-10. Source types for PM2.5 included regional pollution, motor vehicles, sea salt, crustal/road dust, oil combustion, and wood burning. Regional pollution contributed the most, accounting for 48% of total PM2.5 mass, followed by motor vehicles (21%) and wood burning (19%). Source types for PM2.5-10 included crustal/road dust (62%), motor vehicles (22%), and sea salt (16%). A linear decrease in PM concentrations with time was observed for both fine (-5.2%/yr) and coarse (-3.6%/yr) particles. The fine-mode trend was mostly related to oil combustion and regional pollution contributions. Average PM2.5 concentrations peaked in summer (10.4 µg/m3), while PM2.5-10 concentrations were lower and demonstrated little seasonal variability. The findings of this study show that PM2.5 is decreasing more sharply than PM2.5-10 over time. This suggests the increasing importance of PM2.5-10 and traffic-related sources for PM exposure and future policies.Although many studies have examined fine and coarse particle composition and sources, few studies have used concurrent measurements of these two fractions. Our analysis suggests that fine and coarse particles exhibit distinct compositions and sources. With better knowledge of the compositional and source differences between these two PM fractions, better decisions can be made about PM regulations. Further, such information is valuable in enabling epidemiologists to understand the ensuing health implications of PM exposure.

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Long-range fine particulate matter from the 2002 Quebec forest fires and daily mortality in Greater Boston and New York City.

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