Title: Assessment of port-related air quality impacts: geographic analysis of population

Authors: Saravanan Arunachalam; Halley Brantley; Timothy M. Barzyk; Gayle Hagler; Vlad Isakov; Evelyn S. Kimbrough; Brian Naess; Nathan Rice; Michelle G. Snyder; Kevin Talgo; Akula Venkatram

Addresses: Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 1105 (27599-1105), 100 Europa Drive, Suite 490, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, USA ' Air Pollution Prevention and Characterization Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Mail Drop E343-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA ' Human Exposure & Atmospheric Sciences Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Mail Drop E205-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA ' National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Mail Drop E343-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA ' Atmospheric Modeling and Analysis Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA ' Air Pollution Prevention and Characterization Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Mail Drop E343-02, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA ' Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 1105 (27599-1105), 100 Europa Drive, Suite 490, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, USA ' Information Technology Services Research Computing, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 211 Manning Drive, Campus Box 3420, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA ' Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 1105 (27599-1105), 100 Europa Drive, Suite 490, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, USA ' Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 1105 (27599-1105), 100 Europa Drive, Suite 490, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, USA ' Bourns College of Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Bourns Hall A343, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

Abstract: Increased global trade has led to greater transportation by rail, road and ships to move cargo. Based upon multiple near-road and near-source monitoring studies, the busy roadways and large emission sources at ports may impact local air quality within several hundred metres of the ports. Health effects have been associated with near-road exposures and proximity to large emission sources, so characterising emission sources is important for understanding potential health effects. To address this need, we have developed a new community-scale tool called C-PORT to model emissions related to all port-area activities and predict concentrations of multiple criteria and hazardous air pollutants at fine spatial scales in the near-source environment. We present a geographical information system analysis of areas surrounding five US ports (Ports of New York and New Jersey, Virginia, Savannah, Miami, and Houston) to determine potential sources of concern related to freight transport and demographics of the near-source population that could be affected.

Keywords: ports; port emissions; air quality; dispersion; GIS; geographical information systems; cargo; freight transport; trucks; near source; near port; population exposure; air pollution; emission sources; modelling; USA; United States; human health; demographics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2015.077455

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2015 Vol.58 No.4, pp.231 - 250

Received: 18 Dec 2014
Accepted: 01 Dec 2015
Published online: 01 Jul 2016 *

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