The effects of marine vessel fuel sulfur regulations on ambient PM2.5 along the west coast of the U.S.

Abstract This work uses PM2.5 data and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) modeling to explore the effects of two marine vessel fuel sulfur regulations along the west coast of the United States (US); California's (CA) Ocean-Going Vessel Clean Fuel Regulation (CA-CFR) implemented in July 2009 and the North American Emissions Control Area (NA-ECA) implemented in August 2012. Data from 31 chemically speciated PM2.5 monitors along the US west coast were analyzed and 9 sites with strong linear correlations between vanadium and nickel were selected for PMF modeling. The 9 sites were modeled independently and for 8 sites, 3 in CA and 5 in Washington State (WA), a well-defined factor linked to marine vessel residual fuel oil (RFO) combustion was identified. For these 8 sites, model results were subdivided into three time periods; a three year period prior to implementation of the CA-CFR, a three year period after the CA-CFR but prior to the NA-ECA, and a one year period after implementation of the NA-ECA. Marine vessel PM2.5 distributions were compared between the three time periods to determine if statistically significant reductions had occurred. Comparing marine vessel PM2.5 for the three years before and after CA-CFR implementation, all CA sites indicated statistically significant reductions, with reductions in annualized average marine vessel PM2.5 from 30 to 52% (0.09–0.78 μg/m3). Comparing marine vessel PM2.5 for the three years before NA-ECA implementation and the 1 year after, 2 of 5 WA sites indicated statistically significant reductions in annualized average impacts (45–50%, 0.12–0.23 μg/m3) and 1 of 3 sites in CA (46%, 0.04 μg/m3). These results demonstrate that marine vessel fuel sulfur regulations on the west coast of the US have been effective at reducing PM2.5 impacts from marine vessel RFO combustion at some locations, with the implementation of the CA-CFR showing more success than the NA-ECA. The greater observed success of the CA-CFR is, to some extent, probably the result of a longer 3-year implementation time compared to only 1 year for the NA-ECA.

[1]  D. Dockery,et al.  Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect , 2006, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[2]  Philip K. Hopke,et al.  Discarding or downweighting high-noise variables in factor analytic models , 2003 .

[3]  R. Harley,et al.  Effects of switching to lower sulfur marine fuel oil on air quality in the San Francisco Bay area. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[4]  A. D'Alessandro,et al.  Characterization of particulate matter sources in an urban environment. , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[5]  A regional assessment of marine vessel PM2.5 impacts in the U.S. Pacific Northwest using a receptor-based source apportionment method , 2013 .

[6]  H. Burtscher,et al.  Particulate Emissions from a Low-Speed Marine Diesel Engine , 2007 .

[7]  M. Quante,et al.  The contribution of ship emissions to air pollution in the North Sea regions. , 2010, Environmental pollution.

[8]  R. Niessner,et al.  Microscopic characterization of individual particles from multicomponent ship exhaust. , 2012, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[9]  L. Geiser,et al.  Lichen-based critical loads for atmospheric nitrogen deposition in Western Oregon and Washington Forests, USA. , 2010, Environmental pollution.

[10]  E. Fridell,et al.  Characterisation of particulate matter and gaseous emissions from a large ship diesel engine , 2009 .

[11]  Erin H. Green,et al.  Mortality from ship emissions: a global assessment. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  Giulia Calzolai,et al.  Impact of a European directive on ship emissions on air quality in Mediterranean harbours , 2012 .

[13]  David R. Cocker,et al.  In-use gaseous and particulate matter emissions from a modern ocean going container vessel , 2008 .

[14]  S. Gende,et al.  Assessment of cruise–ship activity influences on emissions, air quality, and visibility in Glacier Bay National Park , 2013 .

[15]  F. Gilliland,et al.  Ambient Air Pollution and Atherosclerosis in Los Angeles , 2004, Environmental health perspectives.

[16]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis , 2013 .

[17]  J Wayne Miller,et al.  Benefits of two mitigation strategies for container vessels: cleaner engines and cleaner fuels. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[18]  J J Corbett,et al.  Mitigating the health impacts of pollution from oceangoing shipping: an assessment of low-sulfur fuel mandates. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[19]  G. Velders,et al.  Recent decreases in observed atmospheric concentrations of SO2 in the Netherlands in line with emission reductions , 2011 .