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A personal exposure study employing scripted activities and paths in conjunction with atmospheric releases of perfluorocarbon tracers in Manhattan, New York

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 17, pages 409–425 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

A personal exposure study was conducted in New York City as part of the Urban Dispersion Program (UDP). It examined the contact of individuals with four harmless perflourocarbon tracers (PFT) released in Midtown Manhattan with approval by city agencies at separate locations, during two types of experiments, completed during each release period. Two continuous 1 h release periods separated by a 1.5 h ventilation time were completed on 3 October 2005. Stationary site and personal exposure measurements were taken during each period, and the first half hour after the release ended. Two types of scripted exposure activities are reported: Outdoor Source Scale, and Outdoor Neighborhood Scale; requiring 1- and 10-min duration samples, respectively. The results showed that exposures were influenced by the surface winds, the urban terrain, and the movements of people and vehicles typical in urban centers. The source scale exposure data indicated that local conditions significantly affected the distribution of each tracer, and consequently the exposures. The highest PFT exposures resulted from interaction of the scripted activities with local surface conditions. The range measured for 1- min exposures were large with measured values exceeding 5000 ppqv (parts per quadrillion by volume). The neighborhood scale measurements quantified exposures at distances up to seven blocks away from the release points. Generally, but not always, the PFT levels returned quickly to zero indicating that after cessation of the emissions the concentrations decrease rapidly, and reduce the intensity of local exposures. The near source and neighborhood personal exposure route results provided information to establish a baseline for determining how a release could affect both the general public and emergency responders, and evaluate the adequacy of re-entry or exit strategies from a local area. Finally, the data also show that local characteristics can produce “hot spots”.

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Acknowledgements

This study was part of a large, multi-agency project that has involved many collaborators. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of some of the major contributors for their outstanding and critical support that has made completion of this work possible: Emergency Response Staff Region II, Margaret Chong, Kimberly Camp, Joe Cosentino, Bill Sy, Chester Norman, Carl Pellegrino, Mike Ferriola, Arlene Anderson, Esther Nelson, Marty Freeman, Norrell, Don Wright, Jennifer Feranda, Jim Haklar, Nick Magriples for the exposure measurements, and Eric Mosur, EPA Region II for design issues Other collaborators of note are: Tony Fainberg (DHS Program Manager), Rick Fry (DTRA Program Manager), Paul Kalb (Brookhaven National Laboratory) and Jerry Blancato (EPA Program Manager) prior to and during the field study for guidance and support, Jerry Allwine (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL) who serves as the UDP Science Lead, contributing planning, experimental design, logistical support and overall project management of the field study and provided review/comments, Kevin Clark (NYC Office of Emergency Management) facilitated inter-agency coordination, Joseph Kinney (New Yorker Hotel) provided invaluable logistical support, Bernadette Nation, Emergency Response Unit, NYC Dept of Small Business Services as liaison with local business, Gary Parker and other members of local community boards helped inform the community about the objectives and safety of the field study, Steve Hanna (Harvard School of Public Health) scientific planning for this study, Noel Blackburn (BNL), Reginald Blake (New York City College of Technology), and Derrick Skeet (Medgar Evers College), Peter Bengtson (PNNL), Kay Cordtz (BNL), Mona Rowe (BNL) and Julie Flaherty (PNNL). Ms. Linda Everett (EOHSI) for graphics. Drs. Lioy, Georgopoulos and Isukapalli are funded by US EPA-funded Center for Exposure and Risk Modeling (CERM) under Cooperative Agreement #CR827033 and the NIEHS Center Grant (ES05022-1551). Release of PTF tracers by BNL was approved by NYC agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EOHSI, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, UMDNJ, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

    Paul J Lioy, Panos Georgopoulos, Sai Tong & Sastry Isukapalli

  2. USEPA, NERL, Research Triangle Park, North Corolina, USA

    Daniel Vallero & Gary Foley

  3. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, New York, USA

    John Heiser, Tom Watson & Michael Reynolds

  4. US EPA Region II, Edison, New Jersey, USA

    James Daloia

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  1. Paul J Lioy
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  2. Daniel Vallero
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  3. Gary Foley
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  4. Panos Georgopoulos
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  5. John Heiser
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  6. Tom Watson
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  7. Michael Reynolds
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  8. James Daloia
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  9. Sai Tong
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  10. Sastry Isukapalli
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Correspondence to Paul J Lioy.

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Disclaimer: The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development (ORD) partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under assistance agreement CR 83162501 to the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and funded the PFT analyses under contract EPD 04068 with Battelle Memorial Institute and its subcontractor, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The research and this manuscript have been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.

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Lioy, P., Vallero, D., Foley, G. et al. A personal exposure study employing scripted activities and paths in conjunction with atmospheric releases of perfluorocarbon tracers in Manhattan, New York. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 17, 409–425 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500567

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