Airborne Toxic Elements and Organic Substances (Ateos) Project: Overview

The approach and conclusions of the ATEOS project will be examined with an emphasis on future design considerations and strategies to address and reduce exposures. The ATEOS was a five year project that conducted field sampling in the summer and winter for the years 1981 through 1983. Eighty-five outdoor air pollutants were measured including the composition of inhalable particulate mass, and volatile organic compounds. The particulate mass components measured were the non-polar through polar organic fractions, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, SO-24, trace elements and alkylating agents. From the numerous volatile organic compounds present in the atmosphere measurements were made of 10 chlorinated compounds, the automobile by products, e.g., benzene, o and p xylene, and 13 solvents. Other measurements included local meteorology. Besides the wealth of variables an important component of the study was the selection of the outdoor sites. The approach was to choose specific types of population — industrial-commercial locales with increasing (or decreasing) complexity. The sites were located in the New Jersey urban centers of Newark, Elizabeth and Camden, and a rural setting in Ringwood, N. J. The Newark site was the most complex industrial-commercial-residential interface followed in decreasing order by Elizabeth, Camden and Ring-wood. The manuscript will emphasize the characteristics of the measured variables in relation to the differences in the neighborhoods surrounding each site. Summary information on source — receptor modeling, pollution accumulation processes, episode analyses, and exposure assessment studies will be presented. These will be all evaluated with respect to future study design questions, including monitoring frequency, epidemiological exposure assessments and indoor air pollution.