Personal Exposure to Air Pollution in the Vicinity of U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings

Details

• Creators:
  Vallamsundar, Suriya ; Uwak, Inyang ; Ramani, Tara ; Jaikumar, Rohit ; Johnson, Natalie M ; Trueblood, Amber ; Aguilera, Juan ; Ramirez, Ivan M ; Whigham, Leah ; Li, Wen-Whai
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health. Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Air quality
  • Border crossings
  • Diesel engine exhaust gases
  • Engine idling
  • Heavy duty trucks
  • Pollutants
  • Truck traffic
  • Waiting time
• Publication/ Report Number:
  01-03-TTI
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Texas;United States
• Edition:
  Final Report May 2017–December 2019
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health. Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  This study focused on evaluating pollutant exposures in border crossing regions. Specifically, the study focused on particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure data collected from a group of schoolteachers in the El Paso region in Texas. The region is a gateway for freight movement between the United States and Mexico. A pool of teachers working at a school close to the border crossing area carried a backpack equipped with an air quality monitoring device and a portable global positioning system tracking device. A spatiotemporal exposure assessment was conducted to assess exposure in different microenvironments visited, with findings showing higher mean concentrations at school than either during commuting or at home. Personal monitoring results were also found to be higher by an average of 81 percent than readings from a regulatory monitor and a monitor placed outside the school. These findings highlight a need to expand the coverage and capabilities of current air quality monitoring networks in the region and to improve the indoor air quality in schools using targeted abatement techniques.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3551747128
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67302/dot_67302_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.92 MB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1fcca2612dc905f08111bebd8b1b90720b8adf075a1b1e4e08dfffa3a545a8f947ce0791036fc3dc67ac2fd2fea136a0d1919c5b3b3df6a63776d268b047b9df