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Top-Down Evaluation of Volatile Chemical Product Emissions Using a Lagrangian Framework
Bert W D Verreyken1, Colin Harkins1,2, Meng Li1,2
1NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, 325, Boulder, Colorado 80304, United States.
Environmental Science & Technology
|April 3, 2025
Summary
Volatile chemical product emissions, including construction and consumer products, were evaluated using advanced modeling and tracers. Construction emissions were underestimated by a factor of 5.3 in the Los Angeles basin.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Air Quality Modeling
Background:
- Volatile chemical products (VCPs) contribute significantly to urban air quality.
- Accurate emission inventories are crucial for understanding and mitigating air pollution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate and optimize VCP emissions from the McDonald et al. inventory using sector-specific tracers and dispersion modeling.
- To assess emissions from personal care products, insecticides, and construction subsectors in the Los Angeles basin.
Main Methods:
- Utilized FLEXPART-WRF Lagrangian particle dispersion model with tracers like D5-Siloxane, PDCBZ, and PCBTF.
- Integrated continuous ground-site and in situ aircraft-based observations from summer 2021.
- Optimized weather research and forecasting (WRF) model configuration using PUMAS vertical wind profile measurements.
Main Results:
- Optimized temporal emission profiles, reducing diurnal amplitude for personal care products and insecticides.
- Enhanced diurnal amplitude for construction VCPs (coatings + adhesives).
- Aircraft inversion revealed a fivefold underestimation of construction emissions in the Los Angeles basin.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights significant underestimation of construction VCP emissions in the Los Angeles inventory.
- Optimized emission factors for consumer products and insecticides were determined.
- Employs advanced atmospheric modeling techniques for accurate VCP emission assessment.
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