The mobile monitoring of black carbon and its association with roadside data in the Chinese megacity of Shanghai

Abstract

High-level black carbon (BC) pollution is associated with traffic emissions in metropolitan areas with high vehicle density. Mobile monitoring was conducted to assess the in-vehicle BC exposure on three backbone ring roads (inner, middle, and outer ring roads) on October 14 and October 18, 2015 in Shanghai. Ambient BC monitoring was also simultaneously conducted in three fixed roadside stations from October 14 to October 20, 2015. Results of the mobile monitoring showed median BC personal exposure concentrations ranging from 5.0 μg m^-3 on the inner ring road to 13.5 μg m^-3 on the outer ring road. The ambient BC concentrations during the entire observation period showed an arithmetic mean and a standard deviation of 3.5 ± 2.9 μg m^-3. The correlation analysis of urban roadside monitoring (Caoxi Road and South Zhongshan Road) and personal data showed a high and significant correlation. The results of this study highlight the critical level of BC pollution in Shanghai and facilitate the development of evidence-based public health interventions and control strategies to prevent the adverse health effects of BC pollution.

Keywords: Black carbon; Fixed monitoring; Mobile monitoring; Personal exposure.