Effects of equilibration temperature on PM10 concentrations from the TEOM method in the Lower Fraser Valley

This study investigated the effect of equilibration temperature on PM10 concentrations from the tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) method by operating collocated TEOM monitors at different equilibration temperatures in an airshed (the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia). This airshed contained an abundance of particulate semivolatile material (PSVM). For the period when three collocated TEOM monitors were operated, the PM10 from the monitor at an equilibration temperature of 30 degrees C was 2.5 mu g/m(3) (22%) and 1.7 (17%) mu g/m(3) higher, on average, than the PM10 from monitors at 50 and 10 degrees C, respectively, and the differences were proportional to the ambient PM10 loading. Greater volatilization of PSVM in the TEOM monitors at higher equilibration temperatures may have been a cause of the differences.