Comparative overview of indoor air quality in Antwerp, Belgium

This comprehensive study, a first in Belgium, aimed at characterizing the residential and school indoor air quality of subgroups that took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood [Masoli M, Fabian D, Holt S, Beasley R. Global Burden of Asthma, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, University of Southampton; 2004.] questionnaire-based asthma and related illnesses studies. The principal aim was to perform a base-line study to assess the indoor air quality in Antwerp in terms of various gaseous and particulate pollutants. Secondly, it aimed to establish correlations between these pollutants investigated, the pollutant levels in the indoor and outdoor micro-environments, findings of the previous questionnaire-based studies and an epidemiological study which ran in conjunction with this study. Lastly, these results were compared and evaluated with current indoor and ambient guidelines in various countries This paper presents selected results on PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations and elemental C estimates as black smoke, as well as gaseous NO(2), SO(2), O(3) and BTEX concentrations of 18 residences and 27 schools. These are related to current guidelines of Flanders, Germany, Norway, China and Canada and evaluated with reference to selected similar studies. It was found that indoor sources such as tobacco smoking and carpets, the latter causing re-suspension of dust, are responsible for elevated indoor respirable particulate matter and place school children and residents at risk. Both PM2.5 and PM10 equalled or exceeded the current guidelines adopted by Flanders, noting that 12-h and 24-h PM2.5 were compared with an annual limit value. Indoor and ambient NO(2) concentrations in the school campaign were higher than the annual EU ambient norm. The other studied pollutant levels were below the current guidelines.     

Respiratory hospital admissions in young children living near metal smelters,pulp mills and oil refineries in two Canadian provinces

BackgroundIndustrial plants emit air pollutants like fine particles (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that may affect the health of individuals living nearby.ObjectiveTo assess the effects of community exposure to air emissions of PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 from pulp mills, oil refineries, metal smelters, on respiratory hospital admissions in young children in Quebec (QC) and British Columbia (BC), Canada.MethodsWe assessed QC, BC and pooled associations between the following estimates of exposure and hospital admissions for asthma and bronchiolitis in children aged 2–4 years for the years 2002–2010: i) Crude emission exposures at the residential postal codes of children, calculated by multiplying estimated daily emissions of PM2.5, SO2, or NO2 from all nearby (< 7.5 km) pulp mills, oil refineries, metal smelters emitting yearly ≥ 50 t and their total emissions, by the percent of the day each postal code was downwind; ii) Daily levels of these pollutants at central ambient monitoring stations nearby the industries and the children's residences.ResultsSeventy-one major industries were selected between QC and BC, with a total of 2868 cases included in our analyses. More cases were exposed to emissions from major industries in QC than in BC (e.g. 2505 admissions near SO2 industrial emitters in QC vs 334 in BC), although air pollutant levels were similar. Odds ratios (ORs) for crude refinery and smelter emissions were positive in QC but more variable in BC. For example with PM2.5 in QC, ORs were 1.13 per 0.15 t/day (95% CI: 1.00–1.27) and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.99–1.07) for refinery and smelter emissions, respectively. Pooled results of QC and BC for crude total SO2 emissions from all sources indicated a 1% increase (0–3%) in odds of hospital admissions per 1.50 t/day increase in exposure. Associations with measured pollutant levels were only seen in BC, with SO2 and NO2.ConclusionHospital admissions for wheezing diseases in young children were associated with community exposure to industrial air pollutant emissions. Future work is needed to better assess the risk of exposure to complex mixture of air pollutants from multiple industrial sources.     

Evaluation of some air pollution indicators in Turkey

This article intends to shed a light on air quality in Turkey and compare air pollutant emissions on a national scale with that of the European countries. In order to estimate the quantities of Turkish emissions in the past and their future predictions, a national emission inventory was prepared with respect to five major pollutants consisting of particulate matter(PM), SOx, NOx, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and CO with 5-year intervals between 1985 and 2005. The results suggest that Turkey is a rather large emission source at the European scale, although emission indicators on unit area and per capita were shown to be somewhat smaller in magnitude. Levels of air pollution in some of the big cities in Turkey were also evaluated from available national monitoring data. These evaluations for the urban air qualities covered SO2 and PM parameters between 1986 and 1996, and results were compared with the present Turkish air quality limits, their probable revisions, WHO (Europe) guidelines and related EC directives. Results showed that the air quality limits were not met, especially during the winter periods in Turkish cities. Urban air pollutants characterizing the air in Turkish cities other than SO2 and PM, however, could not have been evaluated as these pollutants were not systematically monitored in these cities.     

Relationship between air pollution and daily mortality in a subtropical city: Taipei, Taiwan

Air pollution has been associated with daily mortality in numerous studies over the past decade. However most of these studies were conducted in the United States and Europe with relatively few done in Asia. In the current study, the association between ambient air pollution and daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan's largest city which has a subtropical climate was undertaken, for the period 1994-1998 using a case-crossover analysis. This design is an alternative to Poisson time series regression for studying the short-term adverse health effects of air pollution. The air pollutants examined included particulate matter (PM(10)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), ozone (O(3)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), and carbon monoxide (CO). The largest observed effect, which was without statistical significance, was seen for NO(2) and CO levels on deaths due to respiratory diseases (ORs=1.013 and 1.014, respectively). The well established link between air pollution levels and daily mortality may not be as strong in cities in subtropical areas, although other factors such as differences in pollutant mix or the underlying health of the population may explain the lack of a strong association in this study. Further studies of this type in cities with varying climates and cultures are needed.     

A quantitative risk assessment method based on population and exposure distributions using Australian air quality data

This paper develops a practical probabilistic method for assessing aggregate population health risks from different types of population exposures. The method consists of calculating the product of two functions: a population-weighted distribution of concentrations and a concentration-response distribution. This operation yields the corresponding aggregated health-risk distribution function. The method can use alternative exposure-response distributions and populations-specific exposure patterns, depending on the context of the assessment. A deterministic sensitivity analysis is included in the methodological aspects of this research. The distributions of concentrations are generated by combining area-specific population densities with atmospheric concentrations for each of the areas where exposure to air pollutants occurs. The exposure-response functions are developed from the literature. The method is exemplified using alternative exposure probabilities to carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM₁₀), and exposure-response models developed specifically for these pollutants for assessing health risks, and applied to data from a number of Australian cities. The results, which hold when the functions are monotonic, show single maximum per pollutant, regardless of the choice of exposure and exposure-response distribution. Although those maxima are often below the Australian Air Pollution Standards, there are instances when this is not the case.     

Mutagenic properties of PM2.5 air pollution in the Padana Plain (Italy) before and in the course of XX Winter Olympic Games of "Torino 2006"

PM2.5 is one of the most important aspects of environmental health. This air pollutant is breathable and it is implicated in several chronic adverse health effects such as the decrease of respiratory functionality and cancer. Several in vitro bioassays are able to predict the mutagenic/carcinogenic activity of the environmental pollutants and mixtures of them. In this study PM2.5 air pollution was daily monitored in three cities located in the Northern part of Italy and the mutagenic properties of the PM2.5 organic extracts were also assessed. Samplings lasted 14 months and cover the period of the Winter Olympic Games of "Torino 2006". In this work, the levels of PM2.5, its mutagenic properties (detected with Salmonella typhimurium assay), the role of the Olympic Games as environmental factor and some meteorological data are discussed. The mean concentration of PM2.5 measured in Torino was 45.4 (+/-30.6) microg/m(3), in Pavia 37.6 (+/-25.6) microg/m(3), in Verona 43.1 (+/-28.5) microg/m(3). Findings of the monthly pool bioassay were in Torino 107 (+/-104) net revertans/m(3), in Pavia 108 (+/-89) net revertans/m(3), in Verona 128 (+/-109) net revertans/m(3). The Olympic Games period data show that PM2.5 pollution and its load of mutagenic potential are different and partially independent phenomena. The Olympic Games had not a great impact on the PM2.5 pollution. The exclusive PM2.5 gravimetric analysis shows a potential human risk if compared with the latest international guide values but it does not describe exhaustively the human health risk associated to the presence of this particular air pollutant. Moreover, the chemical and biological activity qualification of the PM organic extracts as a whole, can instead improve the knowledge.     

北京、上海两地2004和2005年大气污染特征对比分析

为了解北京、上海两市大气污染的变化及其影响因素之间的关系,根据2004、2005年大气质量监测数据,分析了北京、上海两地大气污染特征和两地主要大气污染物的变化规律.结果表明,2004、2005年北京市的PM10最大值是最小值的63.7倍,北京市的变化幅度较上海市的变化幅度大;2004、2005年北京市的SO2最大值是最小值的46.7倍,上海市的SO2最大值是最小值的13.1倍,上海市的SO2污染的因素变化幅度较小;两市的NO2浓度都较高,且季节变化不太明显;两市NO2浓度年平均值满足国家空气质量二级标准,但质量浓度都较高,这与两市的机动车尾气污染有关;两市SO2浓度年平均值除上海市2005年外均满足国家空气质量二级标准,上海市SO2污染严重与上海市消耗大量煤炭有关,北京市SO2污染物浓度年度变化剧烈与冬季取暖烧煤有关;两市可吸入颗粒物污染比较严重,北京市PM10浓度年平均值超过国家空气质量二级标准,上海市PM10浓度年平均值达到国家空气质量二级标准.总体上上海市的大气质量要好于北京市.两地大气主要污染物随时间的变化规律与两地的污染物来源、地理、气候等条件有关.     

Characterization of water-soluble ion species in urban ambient particles

Concentrations and distributions of water-soluble ion species contained in ambient particles were measured in a coastal urban area, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. PM10 and PM2.5 samples were collected using a dichotomous sampler from November 1998 to April 1999 and were analyzed for water-soluble ion species with ion chromatography. On the average, ion species measured in this study accounted for 42.2% of the PM2.5 and 35.7% of the PM10. It was found that SO4(2-) , NO3-, and NH4+ dominated the identifiable components within both fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) fractions, and occupied 90.0% and 80.6% of total dissolved ionic concentrations for PM2.5 and PM10. The secondary aerosol formed through the NOx/SO2 gas-to-particle conversion was estimated based on the oxidation ratio of sulfur and nitrogen (SOR and NOR, respectively), i.e., sulfate sulfur/nitrate nitrogen to total sulfur/total nitrogen. The average SOR/NOR values were 0.25/0.07 and 0.29/0.12 for PM25 and PM10, respectively. The high SOR and NOR values obtained in this study suggested that there existed a secondary formation of SO4(2-) from SO2 along with NO3- from NOx in the atmosphere.     

Air pollution and the demand for hospital services: a review

Time-series studies published since 1993 on the association between short-term changes in air quality and use of hospital services, including both inpatient and emergency room use, are reviewed. The use of nonparametric analysis, often incorporating generalized additive models (GAMs), has increased greatly since the early 1990s. There have also been three major multi-city studies, which together analyzed data from well over 100 cities in Europe and North America. Various air pollutants, especially ozone (O(3)), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), were generally found to be significantly associated with increased use of hospital services. Ozone tends to have stronger effects in the summer during periods of higher concentrations. Several studies revealed synergistic effects between pollutants such as PM and SO(2). Overall, short-term exposure to air pollutants is found to be an important predictor of increased hospital and emergency room use around the world.     

Investigating the relationship between air pollution, health and social deprivation in Leeds, UK

This study examines the relationship between air pollution, social deprivation and health in the city of Leeds, UK under a baseline and three distance-based road user charging (RUC) scenarios set at 2 pence, 10 pence and 20 pence/km. Through application of a series of linked models of traffic, emission and pollutant dispersion, air quality was modelled in response to RUC scenarios. The pollutant modelled were NO(2), PM(10), CO, benzene and 1,3-butadiene, though results of NO(2) are used in this study. The RUC scenarios were compared with the 'base' scenario, all set for the year 2005. The RUC initiatives result in the differences in ambient concentrations of NO(2). The study correlates NO(2) concentrations with derived indices of social deprivation and health. The study concludes that positive but weak relationship exists between air quality and social deprivation, and indicates that deprived population groups are disproportionately exposed to higher NO(2) levels. The relationship between air quality and health status of the population is weak. There is a strong relationship between social deprivation and health status of the population. The study concludes that RUC scenarios result in reducing disparity between affluent and deprived populations.     

北京、上海两地2004和2005年大气污染特征对比分析

为了解北京、上海两市大气污染的变化及其影响因素之间的关系，根据2004、2005年大气质量监测数据，分析了北京、上海两地大气污染特征和两地主要大气污染物的变化规律。结果表明，2004、2005年北京市的PM10最大值是最小值的637倍，北京市的变化幅度较上海市的变化幅度大；2004、2005年北京市的SO2最大值是最小值的467倍，上海市的SO2最大值是最小值的131倍，上海市的SO2污染的因素变化幅度较小；两市的NO2浓度都较高，且季节变化不太明显；两市NO2浓度年平均值满足国家空气质量二级标准，但质量浓度都较高，这与两市的机动车尾气污染有关；两市SO2浓度年平均值除上海市2005年外均满足国家空气质量二级标准，上海市SO2污染严重与上海市消耗大量煤炭有关，北京市SO2污染物浓度年度变化剧烈与冬季取暖烧煤有关；两市可吸入颗粒物污染比较严重，北京市PM10浓度年平均值超过国家空气质量二级标准，上海市PM10浓度年平均值达到国家空气质量二级标准。总体上上海市的大气质量要好于北京市。两地大气主要污染物随时间的变化规律与两地的污染物来源、地理、气候等条件有关。     

A review of traffic-related air pollution exposure assessment studies in the developing world

Exposure assessment studies in the developing world are important. Although recent years have seen an increasing number of traffic-related pollution exposure studies, exposure assessment data on this topic are still limited. Differences among measuring methods and a lack of strict quality control in carrying out exposure assessment make it difficult to generalize and compare findings between studies. In this article, exposure assessment studies carried out in the developing world on several traffic-related air pollutants are reviewed. These pollutants include particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, it discusses advantages and disadvantages of various monitoring methods (ambient fixed-site monitoring, microenvironment monitoring, and personal exposure assessment using portable samplers) for these pollutants in exposure assessment studies. Also included in this paper is a brief introduction of standards for these pollutants in ambient air or in occupational settings established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The review ends with a summary of the limitations and gaps in recent studies and suggestions for future research in the developing world.     

Estimation of age-related vulnerability to air pollution: assessment of respiratory health at local scale

This paper demonstrates association of short-term variation in pollution and health outcomes within the same geographical area for a typical urban setting in the northern part of the UK from time series analysis. It utilises publicly available datasets for regulated air pollutants (PM??, NO?, SO?, CO and O?), meteorology and respiratory hospital admissions (and mortality) between April 2002 and December 2005 to estimate the respiratory health effect of pollution exposure, mainly in the elderly. Our results show that PM?? and O? are positively associated with respiratory hospital admissions in the elderly, specifically in the age group 70-79. CO effects seem to be concentrated on the most elderly age group (80+) whereas NO? seems to have the opposite age-related effect, with lower effects on the more elderly.     

The emission inventory of atmospheric industrial pollution sources of the five cities in Zhejiang Province

The amount of several air pollutants emitted in some cities including Hangzhou,Ningbo,Huzhou,Shaoxing and Jiaxing of Zhejiang Province is based on pollution source census data of Zhejiang Province in 2010.This paper focused on the release of air pollutants such as NO_(x2),SO_2,CO,PM2.5,PM10 and VOC,and calculated the total amount of those air pollutants.It analyzed air pollutant emission factors and found that the electricity and heat production industry released the largest amount of pollutants.     

南昌市环境空气污染时空变化特征及影响因素研究

选取2014~2017年南昌市不同时间尺度AQI及主要空气污染物数据,利用GIS技术、神经网络分析、后向轨迹模型及地统计分析方法,分析了南昌市环境空气污染时空变化特征及影响因素。结果表明,南昌市近年来空气质量总体变化不大,空气质量等级以良为主,占全年比例为57%~61%。但首要污染物变化较大,即PM2.5比例显著下降,NO2和O3比例显著上升,PM10变化不大。南昌市空气污染季节变化显著,冬春季空气质量较差,以PM10、PM2.5污染为主,夏季空气质量最好,以O3污染为主。空气污染周变化以周末及周一污染较重、周四污染最轻,说明南昌市空气污染除了与群众出行习惯有关,还存在其他影响因素。南昌市空气质量日变化呈双峰型（9:00~11:00和20:00~22:00）,主要受上、下班高峰期带来的交通尾气影响。南昌市空气污染空间变化呈典型的“郊区-市区”分布,其中AQI、PM10、PM2.5、SO2、NO2、CO值均以市区较高、郊区较低,而O3的空间分布规律正好相反,这主要与城区NOx排放较多,O3易与其迅速反应而消耗有关。后向轨迹聚类分析结果表明,来自本地的短轨迹气团占比高,对PM2.5、PM10、NO2、O3的影响大。气象因素上,PM2.5、PM10、NO2受相对湿度影响较大,O3受温度影响较大。     

Estimating the total exposure to air pollutants for different population age groups in Hong Kong

Given that Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, the exposure of the Hong Kong people is one of the interesting research areas. In this study, an indirect approach was used to estimate the exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), respiratory dust (PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) pollutants experienced by different age groups of people in Hong Kong. The average concentrations of the 20 major microenvironments obtained from our measurement survey data, together with the people activity pattern data obtained from 7-day recall questionnaires, were used to predict frequency distributions to exposure assessment. Our results showed that Hong Kong people spent more than 86% of their time indoors. Homes were shown to be the one of the major exposure sites to NO2, CO and PM10 for all age groups. Our results also indicate that the 24-h NO2 exposure for individuals, irrespective of age, spending more than 2 h in commuting daily, was observed to be exceeding the 24-h NO2 exposure standards. This study was one of the pioneering studies with valuable contribution for modeling the estimates of exposures to NO2, PM10 and CO of different age groups in Hong Kong.     

雾霾污染的城市间动态关联及其成因研究

面对严重的雾霾天气以及雾霾污染边界不断扩张的严峻挑战,加快创新大气污染联防联控体系以形成跨区域协同治污合力势在必行。本文基于京津冀、长三角、珠三角、成渝、长中游等五大地区96个城市2015年的空气质量指数(AQI)以及PM_(2.5)、PM_(10)、SO_2、CO、NO_2、O~3等6种分项污染物的逐日数据,从时间序列数据"预测能力"的视角,在向量自回归模型框架下识别雾霾污染的城市间动态交互影响效应,运用社会网络分析方法刻画雾霾污染空间关联的网络结构特征。在此基础上,运用二次指派程序从分项污染物视角考察雾霾污染空间关联的关键诱因,并利用双变量Moran指数揭示雾霾污染与其影响因素之间的空间相关性。研究发现,城市雾霾污染之间存在普遍的动态关联关系且呈现出联系紧密、稳定性强、带有明显特征的多线程复杂网络结构形态。不论在地区内部还是在全部样本城市当中,均不存在孤立的城市节点,这意味着面对雾霾污染的空间关联网络,任何一个城市都不能独善其身,均受到来自地区内部和地区以外其他城市以及它们构成的空间关联网络的影响。在六种分项污染物中,PM_(2.5)的空间关联是导致雾霾污染空间关联的最主要诱因。城市雾霾污染与其影响因素尤其是城市人口密度、投资强度、工业污染排放之间存在显著的空间相关性。基于上述结论,中国应当加快构建以防控PM_(2.5)为重点的跨区域雾霾污染协同治理机制,并将其融入城市群发展战略以及区域发展战略之中,最终实现包含雾霾污染协同治理在内的全方位的区域协同发展。     

“2+26”城市治霾方案效果评估:以山东省为案例的研究

以京津冀大气污染传输通道“2+26”城市为对象的区域性雾霾专项治理已经开展两年有余。要判断“2+26”城市治霾方案的实施是否取得了显著成效需要通过科学的实证分析加以验证。采集山东省13个内陆城市2016—2018年每日空气质量指数(AQI)、六种单项污染物(PM 2.5、PM 10、SO 2、NO 2、CO、O 3)浓度以及气象条件等数据,以其中属于“2+26”城市的7城市作为实验组,其余6城市作为对照组,基于双重差分法,对“2+26”城市治霾方案在山东省相关城市的实施效果进行评估,试图分离方案实施所带来的环境效应。结果表明:①“2+26”城市治霾方案的实施总体上有效,对污染传输通道7城市空气质量指数(AQI)指标的降低发挥了显著作用。②“2+26”城市治霾方案对污染传输通道城市的PM 2.5、PM 10、CO浓度的降低有显著贡献,但对SO 2、NO 2和O 3指标的改善贡献并不明显。③对方案进行分时段动态效应分析发现,《京津冀及周边地区2017年大气污染防治工作方案》的发布并未对污染传输通道城市空气质量改善产生立竿见影的效果,而《京津冀及周边地区2017—2018年秋冬季大气污染综合治理攻坚行动方案》《京津冀及周边地区2018—2019年秋冬季大气污染综合治理攻坚行动方案》的落实和执行才是“2+26”城市治霾方案显著见效的保障。该研究在严格遵守双重差分法前提条件的同时,还通过了一系列稳健性检验确保评估结果的可靠性。     

外商直接投资对中国城市雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染的时空效应检验

本文利用了1998—2012年中国241个城市的空间面板数据对中国雾霾污染和FDI的区域分布特征及空间溢出效应进行经验考察,结合系统广义矩估计(SGMM)方法构建了动态空间面板模型,采用了Moran’s I和Geary’s C指数对中国FDI与雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染空间自相关性进行了全域和局域分析。结果发现:(1)雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染与FDI存在显著的空间正相关性,证明了雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染空间的溢出效应以及FDI的辐射效应的存在。同时FDI高值集聚区域一般是雾霾(PM_(2.5))高值集聚区,FDI低值集聚区域一般是雾霾(PM_(2.5))低值集聚区,表明一个地区的引资效果和雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染在地理上的集聚密切相关。雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染表现出显著的"叠加效应"和"溢出效应",说明中国雾霾(PM_(2.5))污染在空间维度、时间维度以及时空维度上分别表现出交叉、累积、持续的演变特征。(2)全样本下,FDI对雾霾(PM_(2.5))浓度的影响表现出增促效应。FDI存量每升高1%,雾霾(PM_(2.5))浓度升高0.011%。(3)分地区样本下,东部城市FDI存量每升高1%,雾霾(PM_(2.5))浓度升高0.001 9%;中部城市FDI存量每升高1%,雾霾(PM_(2.5))浓度升高0.018 3%;而西部城市FDI存量对雾霾(PM_(2.5))浓度影响不显著。上述实证结果说明中国雾霾污染存在着显著的空间依赖性和区域异质性,FDI对中国大部分城市的雾霾污染存在显著的增促效应。     

A framework for identifying distinct multipollutant profiles in air pollution data

BackgroundThe importance of describing, understanding and regulating multi-pollutant mixtures has been highlighted by the US National Academy of Science and the Environmental Protection Agency. Furthering our understanding of the health effects associated with exposure to mixtures of pollutants will lead to the development of new multi-pollutant National Air Quality Standards.ObjectivesIntroduce a framework within which diagnostic methods that are based on our understanding of air pollution mixtures are used to validate the distinct air pollutant mixtures identified using cluster analysis.MethodsSix years of daily gaseous and particulate air pollution data collected in Boston, MA were classified solely on their concentration profiles. Classification was performed using k-means partitioning and hierarchical clustering. Diagnostic strategies were developed to identify the most optimal clustering.ResultsThe optimal solution used k-means analysis and contained five distinct groups of days. Pollutant concentrations and elemental ratios were computed in order to characterize the differences between clusters. Time-series regression confirmed that the groups differed in their chemical compositions. The mean values of meteorological parameters were estimated for each group and air mass origin between clusters was examined using back-trajectory analysis. This allowed us to link the distinct physico-chemical characteristics of each cluster to characteristic weather patterns and show that different clusters were associated with distinct air mass origins.ConclusionsThis analysis yielded a solution that was robust to outlier points and interpretable based on chemical, physical and meteorological characteristics. This novel method provides an exciting tool with which to identify and further investigate multi-pollutant mixtures and link them directly to health effects studies.