Volatile Chemical Product Enhancements to Criteria Pollutants in the United States.
Volatile chemical products (VCPs) are a significant source of reactive organic carbon emissions in the United States with a substantial fraction (>20% by mass) serving as secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors. Here, we incorporate a new nationwide VCP inventory into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with VCP-specific updates to better model air quality impacts. Model results indicate that VCPs mostly enhance anthropogenic SOA in densely populated areas with population-weighted annual average SOA increasing 15-30% in Southern California and New York City due to VCP emissions (contribution of 0.2-0.5 μg m-3). Annually, VCP emissions enhance total population-weighted PM2.5 by ∼5% in California, ∼3% in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and 1-2% in most other states. While the maximum daily 8 h ozone enhancements from VCP emissions are more modest, their influence can cause a several ppb increase on select days in major cities. Printing Inks, Cleaning Products, and Paints and Coatings product use categories contribute ∼75% to the modeled VCP-derived SOA and Cleaning Products, Paints and Coatings, and Personal Care Products contribute ∼81% to the modeled VCP-derived ozone. Overall, VCPs enhance multiple criteria pollutants throughout the United States with the largest impacts in urban cores.
['Seltzer|Karl M|KM|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2175-5678', 'Murphy|Benjamin N|BN|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3542-5378', 'Pennington|Elyse A|EA|', 'Allen|Chris|C|', 'Talgo|Kevin|K|', 'Pye|Havala O T|HOT|']
volatile chemical products reactive organic carbon secondary organic aerosol air quality impacts PM2.5 ozone