Testing of Cavity Attenuation Phase Shift Technology for Siting Near-road NO₂ Monitors

Recent research has identified the public health importance of air pollution exposures near busy roadways. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) significantly revised its nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) air quality standard in 2010. The current regulatory focus has shifted from assessment of longer-term (annual average) NO₂ concentrations measured at locations away from busy roads to shorter-term (1-hour average) concentrations measured at locations near busy roads. A near-road monitoring network is being deployed by EPA in major metropolitan areas, and is about a year old at the time of this report, with additional sites coming online. The guidelines for siting such monitors do not directly address the representativeness of such monitors with respect to short-term exposures to NO₂ within the population, especially to exposures during commuting. The goal with this study was to explore the feasibility of deploying the Cavity Attenuation Phase Shift (CAPS) monitor on a mobile platform to obtain information about NO₂ concentrations in an urban area, specifically both on and near a major urban freeway. The authors deployed the NO₂ monitor on a movable platform in November and December of 2013 as a way to assess NO₂ concentrations both near and on a busy freeway located in a complex urban environment. These short-term mobile platform measurements were made in conjunction with existing NO₂ measurements from a fixed-site regulatory monitor that is by design located some distance away from the roadway. The authors also deployed this same platform in a stationary mode near the freeway and compared these near-road measurements to traditional roadway dispersion models.

• Record URL:
  http://depts.washington.edu/pactrans/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/PacTrans-53-UW-Larson.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium

  University of Washington
  More Hall Room 112
  Seattle, WA  United States  98195-2700

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Larson, Timothy
  • Cai, Mengyu
• Publication Date: 2015-8-31

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Project Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 23p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Environmental monitoring; Feasibility analysis; Freeways; Measuring methods; Nitrogen dioxide; Urban areas
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01579252
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2013-S-UW-0053
• Contract Numbers: DTRT12-UTC10
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 23 2015 9:35AM