Characterization of chemical composition and concentration of fine particulate matter during a transit strike in Ottawa, Canada

From December 10, 2008 to February 9, 2009, a strike stopped the public transit services in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. To understand the changes in air quality associated with the transit strike, the chemical composition and concentration of the fine particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), collected before, during, and after the transit strike period, were evaluated. The collected PM2.5 samples were analyzed to determine the particulate matter mass, the levels of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), as well as the particulate non-polar semi-volatiles, e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, and steranes. Particle number size distributions measured during and after the transit strike period were also compared. Results indicated that during transit strike months, particle number size distributions were entirely dominated by nucleation mode particles leading to an increase in total particle number concentration by about 79%. In addition, particulate matter, organic carbon, and elemental carbon mass concentrations also increased by over 100%. The average total PAH levels during the strike months were higher by a factor of about 7. Elevated concentrations of high molecular weight PAHs (i.e., PAH with 5 and 6 rings) observed during the strike months suggested that there were more gasoline-powered vehicles on the roads over that period. The level of carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene was higher by a factor of 5. Mass concentrations of hopanes and steranes were 30–98% higher during the strike months than non-strike months and exhibited strong correlations with EC suggesting the primary origin of these compounds. These results indicated that the increased traffic volume due to the passenger vehicles and the change in driving pattern during the transit strike period reduced the local air quality.