“Local background” levels of carbon monoxide in an urban area

The objective of this study was to obtain a better understanding of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations immediately upwind of urban roadways, the “local background” values, and how these concentrations depend upon the surrounding traffic and the general meteorology. Measurements were made at seven sites in Seattle, WA during the winter of 1993. Local background CO concentrations were characterized by an absence of short term fluctuations, a steady buildup during the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. period, and a lack of spatial gradients in the 8-h average values. Distinctly different log-normal distributions of the 8-h averages were observed for “trafficked” sites versus “urban park” sites, with mean values of 1.6 and 1.0 ppm respectively. A simple regression model was developed to predict the local background CO that includes distance from roadway, average daily traffic of nearby roadways, and the frequency of occurrence of low wind speeds (R² = 0.74; F = 170).