Archetypes of Spatial Concentration Variability of Organic Contaminants in the Atmosphere: Implications for Identifying Sources and Mapping the Gaseous Outdoor Inhalation Exposome.

ABSTRACT: Whereas inhalation exposure to organic contaminants can negatively impact human health, knowledge of their spatial variability in the ambient atmosphere remains limited. We analyzed the extracts of passive air samplers deployed at 119 unique sites in Southern Canada between 2019 and 2022 for 353 organic vapors. Hierarchical clustering of the obtained data set revealed four archetypes of spatial concentration variability in the outdoor atmosphere, which are indicative of common sources and similar atmospheric dispersion behavior. "Point Source" signatures are characterized by elevated concentration in the vicinity of major release locations. A "Population" signature applies to compounds whose air concentrations are highly correlated with population density, and is associated with emissions

SUBMITTER: Zhan F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11485095 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature