Concentrations of vehicle-related air pollutants in an urban parking garage

There is growing evidence that traffic-related air pollution poses a public health threat, yet the dynamics of human exposure are not well understood. The urban parking garage is a microenvironment that is of concern but has not been characterized. Using time-resolved measurement methods, we evaluated air toxics levels within an urban parking garage and assessed the influence of vehicle activity and type on their levels. Carbon monoxide (CO) and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAH) were measured with direct-reading instruments. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in 30 min intervals using a sorbent tube loaded sequential sampler. Vehicle volume and type were evaluated by video recording. Sampling was conducted from June 24 to July 17, 2002. We observed garage traffic median volumes of 71 counts/h on weekdays and 6 counts/h on weekends. The 12-fold reduction in traffic volume from weekday to weekend corresponded with a decrease in median air pollution that varied from a minimum 2- (CO) to a maximum 7 (pPAH)-fold. The actual 30-min median weekday and weekend values were: CO—2.6/1.2 ppm; pPAH—19/2.6 ng/m3; 1,3-butadiene—0.5/0.2 μg/m3, MTBE—7.4/0.4 μg/m3; and benzene—2.7/0.3 μg/m3. The influence of traffic was quantified using longitudinal models. The pollutant coefficients provide an indication of the average air pollution vehicle source contribution and ranged from 0.31 (CO) to 1.08 (pPAH) percent increase/vehicle count. For some pollutants, a slightly higher (0.5–0.6%) coefficient was observed for light-trucks relative to cars. This study has public health relevance in providing a unique assessment of air pollution levels and source contribution for the urban parking garage.