The Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS): Integration of Low-Cost Sensors and Reference Grade Monitoring in a Complex Metropolitan Area. Part 1: Overview of the Project
Sue Kimbrough,
Stephen Krabbe,
Richard Baldauf,
Timothy Barzyk,
Matthew Brown,
Steven Brown,
Carry Croghan,
Michael Davis,
Parikshit Deshmukh,
Rachelle Duvall,
Stephen Feinberg,
Vlad Isakov,
Russell Logan,
Tim McArthur,
Amy Shields
Affiliations
Sue Kimbrough
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Stephen Krabbe
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 300 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101, USA
Richard Baldauf
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Timothy Barzyk
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Matthew Brown
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 300 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101, USA
Steven Brown
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219, USA
Carry Croghan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Michael Davis
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 300 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101, USA
Parikshit Deshmukh
Jacobs Technology Inc., 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Rachelle Duvall
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Stephen Feinberg
ORISE Participant, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Vlad Isakov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Russell Logan
Jacobs Technology Inc., 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Tim McArthur
Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 109 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
Amy Shields
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219, USA
Emissions from transportation sources can impact local air quality and contribute to adverse health effects. The Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS), conducted over a 1-year period, researched emissions source characterization in the Argentine, Turner, and Armourdale, Kansas (KS) neighborhoods and the broader southeast Kansas City, KS area. This area is characterized as a near-source environment with impacts from large railyard operations, major roadways, and commercial and industrial facilities. The spatial and meteorological effects of particulate matter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and black carbon (BC) pollutants on potential population exposures were evaluated at multiple sites using a combination of regulatory grade methods and instrumentation, low-cost sensors, citizen science, and mobile monitoring. The initial analysis of a subset of these data showed that mean reference grade PM2.5 concentrations (gravimetric) across all sites ranged from 7.92 to 9.34 µg/m3. Mean PM2.5 concentrations from low-cost sensors ranged from 3.30 to 5.94 µg/m3 (raw, uncorrected data). Pollution wind rose plots suggest that the sites are impacted by higher PM2.5 and BC concentrations when the winds originate near known source locations. Initial data analysis indicated that the observed PM2.5 and BC concentrations are driven by multiple air pollutant sources and meteorological effects. The KC-TRAQS overview and preliminary data analysis presented will provide a framework for forthcoming papers that will further characterize emission source attributions and estimate near-source exposures. This information will ultimately inform and clarify the extent and impact of air pollutants in the Kansas City area.
