Suspended particulate matter concentrations along the East–West Corridor, Trinidad, West Indies

An air quality sampling program was designed and implemented to collect baseline concentrations of respirable suspended particulates (PM10) over a six-week period from a network of 18 stations along a populated urban corridor. Air was sampled using portable mini-volume samplers operating in the particulate-sampling mode. Daily samples were gravimetrically determined and comparisons made between the results obtained. Daily PM10 values at some locations met and approached the US 24-h ambient PM10 standard value of 150 μg m−3. Mean levels of PM10 ranged between 46–88 μg m−3, the higher mean levels reflected the closeness of these stations to heavy road traffic; a source of airborne particulate matter. While spatial distribution of PM10 was related to the distance from road traffic, temporal variation in PM10 appeared to be principally associated with presence of Sahara dust, delivered to the region by the North Atlantic Trade Winds. Correlations of PM10 data with road traffic counts and meteorological parameters were generally low.