Fugitive Road Dust PM2.5 Emissions and Their Potential Health Impacts

Fugitive road dust (FRD) particles emitted by traffic-generated turbulence are an important contributor to urban ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Especially in urban areas of developing countries, FRD PM2.5 emissions are a serious environmental threat to air quality and public health. FRD PM2.5 emissions have been neglected or substantially underestimated in previous study, resulting in the underestimation of modeling PM concentrations and estimating their health impacts. This study constructed the FRD PM2.5 emissions inventory in a major inland city in China (Lanzhou) in 2017 at high-resolution (500 × 500 m2), investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of the FRD emissions in different urban function zones, and quantified their health impacts. The FRD PM2.5 emission was approximately 1141 ± 71 kg d–1, accounting for 24.6% of total PM2.5 emission in urban Lanzhou. Spatially, high emissions exceeding 3 × 104 μg m–2 d–1 occurred over areas with smaller particle sizes, larger traffic intensities, and more frequent construction activities. The estimated premature mortality burden induced by FRD PM2.5 exposure was 234.5 deaths in Lanzhou in 2017. Reducing FRD emissions are an important step forward to protect public health in many developing urban regions.