Integrated air quality monitoring to identify local environmental impacts and mitigation from freight transport

Abstract Freight transport has been shown to impact air quality at the local and regional scale. Health studies indicate that exposure to diesel exhaust can result in adverse health effects. In addition, other studies indicate that populations spending significant amounts of time near busy roads, often supporting freight transport, also face increased risks for a number of adverse health effects including asthma, cardiovascular disease, birth and developmental issues and even premature mortality. As a result, characterizing the impact of freight transport and vehicular activity on local and regional air quality must be comprehensive in order to understand and mitigate these health risks. Ambient air quality monitoring methods include fixed-site measurements and mobile monitoring using instruments that range from expensive, research-grade analyzers to low-cost, portable sensors. This paper will present the results from case studies that have integrated fixed and mobile monitoring techniques using a full range of air quality analyzers in order to take advantage of the benefits of each technique. The case studies encompass the evaluation of air quality near busy roads, but can also be implemented for impacts near rail and port activities with significant freight activity. These case studies also highlight the use of these methods to evaluate how urban green and built infrastructure can be implemented to improve local air quality near these sources