Atmospheric Science of Air Pollution Phenomena—Current Directions Toward Exposure Characterization

Abstract

Any approach to multipollutant air quality management must consider the chemical transformation and fate of the relevant pollutant species that affect human health and welfare. Estimating exposure for a broader mix of pollutants (e.g. oxidants, hazardous air pollutants, or the chemical composition and size distribution of PM) requires improved understanding of the complex chemistry and physicochemical transformations of these compounds, their relevant precursors, and their lifetimes in time and space. This chapter provides insights into those processes most likely to affect this broad and complex mix of pollutants in terms of their distribution on the urban/regional and the local scale (i.e. 10’s–100’s of meters from a source). It is not the intent of this chapter to provide comprehensive review of the chemistry of the atmosphere (these can be found elsewhere), but to provide an overview of the atmospheric processes important to a multipollutant approach to air quality management.