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Improvements in Urban Air Quality: Case Studies from New York State, USA

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Abstract

Air quality levels vary over regions due to meteorological factors, proximity to sources, and local conditions (i.e., topography). The Northeast USA is subjected to pollution inputs from both local sources and those from the upwind Midwest USA that are transported by prevailing meteorological patterns. With the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 and the establishment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), national levels of air pollutants have declined significantly. Our study compared air quality time trends between five of the largest cities within New York State (Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse) and statewide means to national trends. Data were obtained from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance for six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5), and lead (Pb). Regional Kendall tests found significant downward trends for each pollutant statewide from 1980 to 2007, while trends by city varied by decade and pollutant. The evaluation of historical trends of pollution in industrialized nations is useful in showing recent air quality improvements and also in the understanding what can be the result in air pollutant controls in those developing nations currently experiencing high levels of pollution.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support for this work by Syracuse Center of Excellence CARTI project award, which is supported by a grant from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [Award No: X-83232501-0]. This work has not been subjected to the Agency’s required peer and policy review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the agency and no official endorsement shall be inferred. We would also like to thank the Russ Twaddle at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance for providing the data and assistance. We also want to thank Phil Hopke at Clarkson University for his helpful comments on these analyses and interpretations. And a final thanks to the two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments, questions and suggestions.

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  1. Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Shannon M. Buckley & Myron J. Mitchell

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  1. Shannon M. Buckley
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  2. Myron J. Mitchell
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Correspondence to Shannon M. Buckley.

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Buckley, S.M., Mitchell, M.J. Improvements in Urban Air Quality: Case Studies from New York State, USA. Water Air Soil Pollut 214, 93–106 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0407-z

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