Articles | Volume 20, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2911-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2911-2020
Research article
 | 
11 Mar 2020
Research article |  | 11 Mar 2020

How much does traffic contribute to benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon air pollution? Results from a high-resolution North American air quality model centred on Toronto, Canada

Cynthia H. Whaley, Elisabeth Galarneau, Paul A. Makar, Michael D. Moran, and Junhua Zhang

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Cited articles

Anastasopoulos, A. T., Wheeler, A. J., Karman, D., and Kulka, R. H.: Intraurban concentrations, spatial variability, and correlation of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and PM2.5, Atmos. Environ., 59, 272–283, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.05.004, 2012. a, b
Aulinger, A., Matthias, V., and Quante, M.: Introducing a partitioning mechanism for PAHs into the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system and its application to simulating the transport of benzo(a)pyrene over Europe, J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim., 46, 1718–1730, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAMC1395.1, 2007. a
Bidleman, T. F. and Foreman, W. T.: Vapor-particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds, in: Sources and Fates of Aquatic Pollutants, 27–56, American Chemical Society, 1987. a
Boulton, J. W.: Emissions, air quality and health impacts of widespread electric vehicle use: literature review and relevance to the Canadian situation, Technical report, 75 Albert St, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1P 5E7, 2016. a
Center for climate and energy solutions: U.S. state clean vehicle policies, url, Center for climate and energy solutions, United States, available at: https://www.c2es.org/document/us-state-clean-vehicle-policies-and-incentives/ (last access: 27 January 2020), 2019. a
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Short summary
Benzene and polycyclic aromatic compounds are toxic air pollutants and ubiquitous in the environment. Using a chemical transport model, we have determined the net impact of vehicle emissions on ambient concentrations of these species. Traffic emissions were found to be a significant fraction of ambient pollution in the densely populated modelled region of North America. Our simulations demonstrate the air quality benefits that would result from transitioning to a zero-emission vehicle fleet.
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