Characterization and sensitivity analysis on ozone pollution over the Beaumont-Port Arthur Area in Texas of USA through source apportionment technologies

Ground-level ozone pollution will harm the human health and ecological environment. With the increasingly rigorous ozone standard in the U.S., it is important to quantitatively characterize ozone pollution contributions from different spatial domains and emission sources to help air-quality controls in chemical industrial regions, such as Beaumont-Port Arthur (BPA) area in Texas of USA. In this study, both methods of ozone source apportionment technology (OSAT) and anthropogenic precursor culpability assessment (APCA) associated with the comprehensive air quality modeling with extensions (CAMx) have been employed to perform ozone source apportionment modeling to study the effect of the emission sources and domains on ozone formations in the BPA area. OSAT results indicate that local emission sources play the major role (34.8% ozone) in local high ozone events; meanwhile, emission sources and direct ozone transportations from its surrounded regions also provide notable contributions (e.g., West Louisiana and Gulf of Mexico contributes 24.0% and 20.6% ozone, respectively). APCA results indicates that elevated point emissions and on-road emissions are major anthropogenic sources for local ozone formations, which account for 43.2% and 38.2%, respectively. This study could be helpful to provide scientific and technological support for the future development of air-quality management and ozone pollution control strategies in industrial concentrated regions.

Automated summary

This study quantitatively characterized ozone pollution in the BPA area of Texas and found that local emission sources play a major role in local high ozone events, with contributions also coming from surrounding regions. Elevated point emissions and on-road emissions were identified as major anthropogenic sources for local ozone formations.