Publications

Traffic pollutants measured inside vehicles waiting in line at a major US-Mexico Port of Entry

Faculty Author(s): Khalighi, Mehdi
Student Author(s): -
Department: AEST
Publication: The Science of the Total Environment
Year: 2018
Abstract: Keywords U.S. - Mexico border; Port of entry; In-vehicle; In-cabin exposures; Air pollution; Wait times Highlights * Crossing the US-Mexico border at Ports of Entry involves long waits. * We measured in-vehicle exposures to traffic pollutants during border wait. * In-vehicle levels of ultrafine particles elevated at San Ysidro, CA Port of Entry * > 60% of ultrafine particles exposure during commute was from border wait. * Reductions in wait times through staffing or other measures will reduce exposures. Abstract At US-Mexico border Ports of Entry, vehicles idle for long times waiting to cross northbound into the US. Long wait times at the border have mainly been studied as an economic issue, however, exposures to emissions from idling vehicles can also present an exposure risk. Here we present the first data on in-vehicle exposures to driver and passengers crossing the US-Mexico border at the San Ysidro, California Port of Entry (SYPOE). Participants were recruited who regularly commuted across the border in either direction and told to drive a scripted route between two border universities, one in the US and one in Mexico. Instruments were placed in participants' cars prior to commute to monitor-1-minute average levels of the traffic pollutants ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the breathing zone of drivers and passengers. Location was determined by a GPS monitor. Results reported here are for 68 northbound participant trips. The highest median levels of in-vehicle UFP were recorded during the wait to cross at the SYPOE (median 29,692 particles/cm.sup.3) significantly higher than the portion of the commute in the US (median 20,508 particles/cm.sup.3) though not that portion in Mexico (median 22, 191 particles/cm.sup.3). In-vehicle BC levels at the border were significantly lower than in other parts of the commute. Our results indicate that waiting in line at the SYPOE contributes a median 62.5% (range 15.5%--86.0%) of a cross-border commuter's exposure to UFP and a median 44.5% (range (10.6--79.7%) of exposure to BC inside the vehicle while traveling in the northbound direction. Reducing border wait time can significantly reduce in-vehicle exposures to toxic air pollutants such as UFP and BC, and these preventable exposures can be considered an environmental justice issue. Author Affiliation: (a) San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4162, USA (b) Millersville University, Department of Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology Occupational Safety & Environmental Health Program, 40 East Frederick Street, Millersville, PA 17551, USA (c) Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas e Ingenieria, Calzada Universidad 14418 Parque Industrial Internacional, Tijuana B.C. 22427, Mexico * Corresponding author at: Graduate School of Public Health, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4162, USA. Article History: Received 29 September 2017; Revised 22 November 2017; Accepted 27 November 2017 (miscellaneous) Editor: P. Kassomenos (footnote)1 Co-first authors. Byline: Penelope J.E. Quintana [jquintan@mail.sdsu.edu] (a,*,1), Mehdi Khalighi (b,1), Javier Emmanuel Castillo Quinones (c), Zalak Patel (a), Jesus Guerrero Garcia (c), Paulina Martinez Vergara (c), Megan Bryden (a), Antoinette Mantz (a)
Link: Traffic pollutants measured inside vehicles waiting in line at a major US-Mexico Port of Entry