CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF EMISSIONS FROM URBAN SOURCES OF FINE ORGANIC AEROSOL

A dilution source sampling system was used to collect primary fine aerosol emissions from important sources of urban organic aerosol, including a boiler burning No. 2 fuel oil, a home fireplace, a fleet of catalyst-equipped and noncatalyst automobiles, heavy-duty diesel trucks, natural gas home appliances, and meat cooking operations. Alternative dilution sampling techniques were used to collect emissions from cigarette smoking and a roofing tar pot, and grab sample techniques were employed to characterize paved road dust, brake lining wear, tire wear, and vegetative detritus. Organic aerosol constituted the majority of the fine aerosol mass emitted from many of the sources tested. Fine primary organic aerosol emissions within the heavily urbanized western portion of the Los Angeles Basin were determined to total 29.8 metric tons/day. Over 40% of these organic aerosol emissions are from anthropogenic pollution sources that are expected to emit contemporary (nonfossil) aerosol carbon, in good agreement with the available ambient monitoring data.