ATMOSPHERIC LEAD: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO TRAFFIC VOLUME AND PROXIMITY TO HIGHWAYS

THESE STUDIES SHOW THAT A RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN TRAFFIC VOLUME, PROXIMITY TO THE HIGHWAY, ENGINE ACCELERATION VS. CONSTANT SPEED, WIND DIRECTION, AND THE AMOUNT OF LEAD IN THE AIR. AT LOCATIONS NEAR THE HIGHWAY, THE EFFECT OF TRAFFIC DENSITY ON THE LEAD CONTENT OF THE AIR IS AT A MAXIMUM, BUT, AT DISTANCES GREATER THAN 250 FEET, THE EFFECT OF THE TRAFFIC DENSITY IS LARGELY LOST. MORE THAN 65% OF THE LEAD IN THE AIR FROM 30-1750 FEET FROM A WELL TRAVELED HIGHWAY (48,000 CARS DAILY) CONSISTS OF PARTICLES UNDER 2 MICRON IN DIAMETER, AND MORE THAN 85% CONSISTS OF PARTICLES UNDER 4 MICRON IN DIAMETER. /AUTHOR/