The Airy Truth About Washington, DC: Spatio-Temporal Distributions of Particulate Matter Exposures in Washington, DC

The District of Columbia ranks seventh highest as one of the unhealthiest places to live due to poor air quality (EPA Report, 1999). Particulate matter is one of the major contributors to pollution in the Washington, DC environment. Quite often ambient airborne toxics are closely associated with particulate matter. Fine aerosols are characterized as particles with diameters smaller than 1 μm and are easily deposited into the alveolar regions of the human lungs, which can impose severe health risks. In this study, high-resolution aerosol measurements of PM_2.5 and heavy metals like chromium, lead, cadmium and arsenic, in four wards of Washington, DC have been performed. Spatial distributions of aerosols are characterized as a function of size and mass properties. Results of the spatial analysis of aerosol number and mass distribution for PM_2.5 will be presented.