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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Particulate Matter Concentration and Air Quality Affected by Windblown Dust in the Columbia Plateau

^a USDA-ARS, 213 LJ Smith Hall, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA
^b Benton County Clean Air Authority, Richland, WA

^* Corresponding author (sharratt{at}wsu.edu)

Received for publication May 30, 2006. The USEPA has proposed to regulate PM_coarse (particulate matter 2.5 to 10 µm in diameter). Exceedance of the proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM_coarse is expected within the Columbia Plateau of the Pacific Northwest United States based on the high frequency of dust storms and the large contribution of crustal material to fugitive dust in the region. The objective of this study was to explore the implication of the proposed NAAQS for PM_coarse on air quality. Concurrent observations of both PM10 (particulate matter 10 µm in diameter) and PM_fine (particulate matter 2.5 µm in diameter) were made at Kennewick, WA from 1999 through 2005. Daily PM_coarse concentration was determined as the difference between PM10 and PM_fine concentrations. The number of exceedances of the proposed USEPA NAAQS for PM_coarse was determined for various levels of the standard (the proposed daily level is 70 µg m^–3). Over the 7 yr of this study, the PM10 standard was exceeded on 16 d with PM_fine constituting 4 to 7% of PM10. The proposed PM_coarse standard would have been exceeded on 35 d and represents a 120% increase in the number of exceedances over the current PM10 standard. Changing the level of the proposed PM_coarse standard to that of the current PM10 standard (150 µg m^–3) would result in a 20% decrease in the number of exceedances of the PM standard. The results of this study suggest that the proposed NAAQS for PM_fine and PM_coarse will be exceeded more frequently than the current PM_fine and PM10 standard in a region subject to seasonal dust storms.

Abbreviations: PM10, particulate matter 10 µm in diameter • PM_coarse, particulate matter 2.5 to 10 µm in diameter • PM_fine, particulate matter 2.5 µm in diameter • PM, particulate matter • TSP, total suspended particles • TEOM, tapered element oscillating microbalances