Ultrafine particles in cities

Prashant Kumar; Lidia Morawska; Wolfram Birmili; Pauli Paasonen; Min Hu; Markku Kulmala; Roy M Harrison; Leslie Norford; Rex Britter

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.01.013

Ultrafine particles in cities

Environ Int. 2014 May:66:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.01.013. Epub 2014 Feb 4.

Authors

Prashant Kumar¹, Lidia Morawska², Wolfram Birmili³, Pauli Paasonen⁴, Min Hu⁵, Markku Kulmala⁶, Roy M Harrison⁷, Leslie Norford⁸, Rex Britter⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (FEPS), University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; Environmental Flow (EnFlo) Research Centre, FEPS, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom. Electronic address: P.Kumar@surrey.ac.uk.
² International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
³ Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
⁴ Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
⁵ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁶ Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
⁷ Division of Environmental Health & Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Department of Environmental Sciences / Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA 02139, USA.
⁹ Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

PMID: 24503484
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.01.013

Abstract

Ultrafine particles (UFPs; diameter less than 100 nm) are ubiquitous in urban air, and an acknowledged risk to human health. Globally, the major source for urban outdoor UFP concentrations is motor traffic. Ongoing trends towards urbanisation and expansion of road traffic are anticipated to further increase population exposure to UFPs. Numerous experimental studies have characterised UFPs in individual cities, but an integrated evaluation of emissions and population exposure is still lacking. Our analysis suggests that the average exposure to outdoor UFPs in Asian cities is about four-times larger than that in European cities but impacts on human health are largely unknown. This article reviews some fundamental drivers of UFP emissions and dispersion, and highlights unresolved challenges, as well as recommendations to ensure sustainable urban development whilst minimising any possible adverse health impacts.

Keywords: City environment; Health impacts; Particle exposure; Particle number concentration; Ultrafine particles.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Asia
Cities*
Environmental Exposure*
Environmental Monitoring*
Europe
Humans
Vehicle Emissions / analysis*
Vehicle Emissions / legislation & jurisprudence

Substances

Air Pollutants
Vehicle Emissions