Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions

Brian C McDonald; Joost A de Gouw; Jessica B Gilman; Shantanu H Jathar; Ali Akherati; Christopher D Cappa; Jose L Jimenez; Julia Lee-Taylor; Patrick L Hayes; Stuart A McKeen; Yu Yan Cui; Si-Wan Kim; Drew R Gentner; Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz; Allen H Goldstein; Robert A Harley; Gregory J Frost; James M Roberts; Thomas B Ryerson; Michael Trainer

doi:10.1126/science.aaq0524

Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions

Science. 2018 Feb 16;359(6377):760-764. doi: 10.1126/science.aaq0524.

Authors

Brian C McDonald^{1

2}, Joost A de Gouw^{3

2}, Jessica B Gilman², Shantanu H Jathar⁴, Ali Akherati⁴, Christopher D Cappa⁵, Jose L Jimenez^{3

6}, Julia Lee-Taylor^{3

7}, Patrick L Hayes⁸, Stuart A McKeen^{3

2}, Yu Yan Cui^{3

2}, Si-Wan Kim^{3

2}, Drew R Gentner^{9

10}, Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz¹¹, Allen H Goldstein^{12

13}, Robert A Harley¹³, Gregory J Frost², James M Roberts², Thomas B Ryerson², Michael Trainer²

Affiliations

¹ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA. [email protected].
² Chemical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA.
³ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁷ National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
⁹ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹⁰ School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
¹² Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.

PMID: 29449485
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0524

Abstract

A gap in emission inventories of urban volatile organic compound (VOC) sources, which contribute to regional ozone and aerosol burdens, has increased as transportation emissions in the United States and Europe have declined rapidly. A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)-including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products-now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities. The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs. Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / adverse effects*
Air Pollutants / analysis
Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid
Environmental Exposure*
Humans
Hydrocarbons / adverse effects*
Hydrocarbons / analysis
United States
Volatile Organic Compounds / adverse effects*
Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Hydrocarbons
Volatile Organic Compounds
Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid