Source,distribution, and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban street dust from Tianjin,China

To better assess and understand potential health risk of urban residents exposed to urban street dust, the total concentration, sources, and distribution of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 87 urban street dust samples from Tianjin as a Chinese megacity that has undergone rapid urbanization were investigated. In the meantime, potential sources of PAHs were identified using the principal component analysis (PCA), and the risk of residents’ exposure to PAHs via urban street dust was calculated using the Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) model. The results showed that the total PAHs (∑PAHs) in urban street dust from Tianjin ranged from 538 μg kg^?1 to 34.3 mg kg^?1, averaging 7.99 mg kg^?1. According to PCA, the two to three- and four to six-ring PAHs contributed 10.3 and 89.7 % of ∑PAHs, respectively. The ratio of the sum of major combustion specific compounds (ΣCOMB)?/?∑PAHs varied from 0.57 to 0.79, averaging 0.64. The ratio of Ant/(Ant?+?Phe) varied from 0.05 to 0.41, averaging 0.10; Fla/(Fla?+?Pyr) from 0.40 to 0.68, averaging 0.60; BaA/(BaA?+?Chry) from 0.29 to 0.51, averaging 0.38; and IcdP/(IcdP?+?BghiP) from 0.07 to 0.37, averaging 0.22. The biomass combustion, coal combustion, and traffic emission were the main sources of PAHs in urban street dust with the similar proportion. According to the ILCR model, the total cancer risk for children and adults was up to 2.55?×?10^?5 and 9.33?×?10^?5, respectively.     

Potentially toxic metal contamination of urban soils and roadside dust in Shanghai, China

A detailed investigation was conducted to understand the contamination characteristics of a selected set of potentially toxic metals in Shanghai. The amount of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd and Ni were determined from 273 soil/dust samples collected within urban area. The results indicated that concentration of all metals except Ni in soils was significant, and metal pollution was even severer in roadside dust. A series of metal spatial distribution maps were created through geostatistical analysis, and the pollution hotspots tended to associate with city core area, major road junctions, and the regions close to industrial zones. In attempt of identifying the source of metals through geostatistical and multivariate statistical analyses, it was concluded as follows: Pb, Zn and Cu mainly originated from traffic contaminants; soil Ni was associated with natural concentration; Cd largely came from point-sourced industrial pollution; and Cr, Ni in dust were mainly related to atmospheric deposition.     

Accounting for averaging time in air pollution modeling

This paper examines the validity of a commonly used expression to estimate concentrations for averaging times that are much smaller than that corresponding to the model estimate. These “peak” concentrations, which can be several times larger than the model estimate, are required in applications such as odor assessment. We show that this expression cannot be justified, and that information on short-term concentrations is only contained in the probability distribution of time-averaged concentrations. The paper proposes a simple model of concentration time series to examine the effect of averaging time on concentration probability distributions. The results from the model are compared with previous theoretical and experimental studies.     

Source characterisation of road dust based on chemical and mineralogical composition

Road dust contain potentially toxic pollutants originating from a range of anthropogenic sources common to urban land uses and soil inputs from surrounding areas. The research study analysed the mineralogy and morphology of dust samples from road surfaces from different land uses and background soil samples to characterise the relative source contributions to road dust. The road dust consist primarily of soil derived minerals (60%) with quartz averaging 40-50% and remainder being clay forming minerals of albite, microcline, chlorite and muscovite originating from surrounding soils. About 2% was organic matter primarily originating from plant matter. Potentially toxic pollutants represented about 30% of the build-up. These pollutants consist of brake and tire wear, combustion emissions and fly ash from asphalt. Heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr and Cd primarily originate from vehicular traffic while Fe, Al and Mn primarily originate from surrounding soils. The research study confirmed the significant contribution of vehicular traffic to dust deposited on urban road surfaces.     

An Air Quality Data Analysis System for Interrelating Effects,Standards, and Needed Source Reductions: Part 4. A Three-Parameter Averaging-Time Model

Urban air pollutant concentration data often tend to fit a two-parameter averaging-time model having three characteristics: (1) pollutant concentrations are (two-parameter) lognormally distributed for all averaging times; (2) median concentrations are proportional to averaging time raised to an exponent; and (3) maximum concentrations are approximately inversely proportional to averaging time raised to an exponent. Concentration data obtained near many isolated point sources and in some urban areas often do not fit a two-parameter lognormal distribution. An increment (either positive or negative) can be added to each such concentration in order to fit the data instead to a three-parameter lognormal distribution. This increment has been incorporated as the third parameter in a new three-parameter averaging-time model that can be used in both point-source and urban settings. Examples show how this new model can be used to analyze SO₂ concentration data obtained near a point source to determine the degree of emission reduction needed to achieve the national ambient air quality standards.     

Mineral particles content in recent snow at Summit (Greenland)

The mineral insoluble fraction of snowpit samples collected at Summit is investigated, representing deposition from summer 1987 to summer 1991. We attempt to describe the particles which are observed in the series, with very large seasonal variations. Elemental, mineralogical and size distribution studies are carried out on four samples selected according to the chemical profile of the snowpit (two samples from spring and two from winter) using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and analytical transmission electron microscopy. Results indicate a large predominance of the soil-derived particles originating from arid or semi-arid regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The mineralogy clearly indicates a high contribution for the muscovite-illite associated with a low kaolinite/chlorite ratio, together with the rather lack of smectite. This supports the hypothesis of an Asian source. Several other factors are consistent with this Asian source, like the recent climatology and the good timing between the Asian dust storms period and the peak of dust concentration in the ice. The mineralogy of the insoluble particles in the snow is similar between winter and spring, suggesting that the change of concentration between the seasons is more strongly linked to changes of atmospheric parameters than changes of the source regions.     

House dust as a source of human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Kuwait

This study reports concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in dust samples collected from 17 homes in Kuwait. PBDEs were measured in all homes investigated with mean summation operatorPBDEs concentration ranging from 1 to 393 ng g(-1), with a geometric mean of 76 ng g(-1). The dominant congener in all samples was BDE 209 constituting ca. 85% of the summationPBDEs followed by BDE 99 (5%), BDE 47 (4.5%), and BDE 183 (2%). The congener mixture in dust is dominated by those in deca and penta formulations. Using the measured concentrations and estimates of dust ingestion rates for children and adults, estimated human non-dietary exposure based on mean PBDE levels were 14.8 and 1.5 ng day(-1) for children and adults, respectively. The 10-fold difference in exposure estimates between children and adults in this study supports previous reports that children are at greater risk from pollutants that accumulate indoors. The ubiquitous distribution of these chemicals as noted in this study highlights the fact that we are continuously exposed to low doses of chemicals in the indoor environment.     

Characteristics of road dust from different sampling sites in northern Taiwan

Road dust contributes a large percentage of the atmosphere's suspended particles in Taiwan. Three road dust samples were collected from downtown, electrical park, and freeway tunnel areas. A mechanical sieve separated the road dust in the initial stage. Particles > 100 microm were 75%, 70%, and 60% (wt/wt), respectively, of the samples. Those particles < 37 microm were resuspended in another mixing chamber and then collected by a Moudi particle sampler. The largest mass fraction of resuspended road dust was in the range of 1-10 microm. Ultrafine particles (< 1 microm) composed 33.7, 17, and 7.4% of the particle samples (downtown, electrical park, and freeway tunnel, respectively). The road dust compositions were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emissions spectroscopy and ICP-mass spectrometry. The highest concentration fraction contained more aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), and potassium than other elements in the road dust particle samples. Additionally, the sulfur (S) content in the road dust from the electrical park and freeway tunnel areas was 2.1 and 3.4 times the downtown area sample, respectively. The sulfur originated from the vehicle and boiler oil combustion and industrial manufacturing processes. Furthermore, zinc (Zn) concentration in the tunnel dust was 2.6 times that of the downtown and electrical park samples, which can be attributed to vehicle tire wear and tear. Resuspended road dusts (< 10 microm) from the downtown and freeway tunnel areas were principally 2.5-10 microm Al, barium (Ba), Ca, copper (Cu), Fe, magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), antimony (Sb), and Zn, whereas arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) were predominant in the ultrafine particle samples (< 1 microm). Al, Ba, and Ca are the typical soil elements in coarse particles; and As, and Cr and Ni are the typical fingerprint of oil combustion and vehicle engine abrasion in ultrafine particles. There was a special characteristic of resuspension road dust at electrical park, that is, many elements, including As, Ba, Ca, cadmium, Cr, Cu, Fe, manganese (Mn), Ni, lead (Pb), S, vanadium (V), and Zn, were major in ultrafine particles. These elements should be attributed to the special manufacturing processes of electric products.     

Levels and sources of brominated flame retardants in human hair from urban, e-waste, and rural areas in South China

Human hair and indoor dust from urban, e-waste, and rural areas in south China were collected and analyzed for brominated flame retardants (BFRs). BFRs concentrations in hair from occupational e-waste recycling workers were higher than those from non-occupational exposed residents in other sampling areas. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) are two major BFRs in hair samples. The PBDE congener profiles in hair from the e-waste area are different from those from urban and rural areas with relatively higher contribution of lower brominated congeners. DBDPE, instead of BDE209, has become the major BFR in non-e-waste recycling areas. Significant correlations were found between hair level and dust level for DBDPE and BTBPE but not for PBDEs. The different PBDE congener profiles between dust and hair may suggest that exogenous exposure to the PBDE adsorbed on dust is not a major source of hair PBDEs.     

Unsteady characteristics of the dispersion process in the vicinity of a pig barn. Wind tunnel experiments and comparison with field data

Two complementary methods, field experiments and physical modelling in a wind tunnel, have been used to investigate the dispersion of tracer-gas released from the ventilation system of a pig barn, under near-neutral stability conditions. In both cases, concentration fluctuations were measured and the deduced statistical results were compared. The choice of data processing applied to the time series of concentration was motivated by special issues in the assessment of odour annoyances: “where, how often, how long and how strong does it smell?” These features were described by the mean concentration distribution, the intermittency factor, the persistence and the 90-percentile. The good agreement between field and wind tunnel data confirmed the ability to replicate in wind tunnel the unsteady properties of a dispersion process, if the unsteady turbulent behaviour of the atmospheric boundary layer was properly modelled.A parametrical study of the influence on the dispersion process of the ratio between the exhaust velocity from the stack and the wind speed was then performed in wind tunnel. The fundamental outcome was that the near-field dispersion process under neutral stability conditions, despite the strong influence of the building wake, was for the most part driven by the meandering behaviour of the plume and not so much by the diffusion process.This study was also focused on the influence of the averaging time on the statistical results. The scatter generated by using dimensionless averaging times 200<T_a^*<400 (used during field experiments) instead of T_a^*→∞ (averaging time to ensure reproducible statistic results) was quantified in the wind tunnel. A degree of representativity of the results obtained from short-term samples, compared to fully converged statistical results was therefore assessed.     

Mobile sources of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a roadway tunnel

Amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) in samples collected from the air, from the dust on a guardrail, and from the soils on a tunnel roadway at five sampling sites in a regular roadway tunnel were chemically analyzed in order to determine their sources. Among the 23 PAHs found in the air samples, pyrene was found in the highest concentration (43±7.2 ng/m³), followed by fluoranthene (26±4.3 ng/m³). Among 20 oxy-PAHs found in the air samples, anthraquinone was found in the greatest amount (56±3.9 ng/m³). The average concentration of the major PAHs found in the guardrail dust samples were 6.9±0.77 μg/g for pyrene, 5.5±0.76 μg/g for fluoranthene, and 2.6±0.30 μg/g for phenanthrene. The average concentration of the major oxy-PAHs found in the guardrail dust samples were 9.2±3.5 μg/g for anthraquinone and 1.4±0.50 μg/g for 2-methylanthraquinone. The average concentration of the major PAHs found in the soil samples were 1.1±0.31 μg/g for fluoranthene, 0.92±0.21 μg/g for pyrene, and 0.72±0.16 μg/g for phenanthrene. The average concentration of the major oxy-PAHs found in the soil samples were 1.2±0.88 μg/g for anthraquinone, 0.18±0.04 μg/g for 4-biphenylcarboxaldehyde, and 0.13±0.08 μg/g for 2-methylanthraquinone. The BeP ratios calculated from the results suggest that most PAHs found in the samples collected from the roadway tunnel were from automobile exhaust gases.     

Testing Re-entrained Aerosol Kinetic Emissions from Roads : a new approach to infer silt loading on roadways

PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 emissions from roadways are currently estimated using the silt loading on the road surface as a surrogate for the emissions potential of road dust. While the United States Environmental Protection Agency prescribes this method in AP-42, there is considerable cost associated with silt loading measurements; it is feasible to sample only a small portion of a roadway network. A new approach for measuring the concentration of suspendable PM₁₀ above road surfaces has been developed to obtain a more spatially representative estimate of a road's potential to emit dust. The Testing Re-entrained Aerosols Kinetic Emissions from Roads (TRAKER) system uses real-time aerosol sensors mounted on a vehicle to measure the concentration of dust suspended from the road while the vehicle is in motion. When coupled with a Global Positioning System (GPS) instrument, TRAKER can be used to efficiently survey the changes in suspendable particles due to varying road conditions over a large spatial domain.In a recent study on paved roads in Las Vegas, the TRAKER system was compared with collocated silt loading measurements. The TRAKER system was also used to survey the relative amounts of suspendable road dust on approximately 300 miles of paved roads. The system provides a unique perspective on road dust sources and their spatial distribution.Results of this study indicated that the difference of the PM₁₀ concentrations measured behind the tire and on the hood is exponentially related to vehicle speed. This was an interesting finding because current AP-42 road dust emissions estimation methods do not include vehicle speed as a factor in the emissions calculations. The experiment also demonstrated that the distribution of suspendable material on roadways is highly variable and that a large number of samples are needed to represent road dust emissions potential on an urban scale for a variety of road and activity conditions.     

Individual particle characteristics of North African dust under different long-range transport scenarios

After urban sources, mineral dust in Madrid is the second biggest contributor to PM₁₀, making up 40% on average, of total emissions. Approximately, 50% of the days on which the daily limit of 50 μg m^?3 marked by the European Directive, are ascribable to Saharan outbreaks. The present study has focused on individual particle characterization of North African dust over Madrid by SEM/EDX, since no previous works on this type of characterization have been found in the region. More than 30,000 particles from 6 different samples have been measured to characterize 4 African episodes with very different meteorological scenarios, transport processes and source origins. Different samples from the same episode have also been characterized to evaluate homogeneity of dust characteristics over time. Silicates, mainly composed of clay minerals, are the main component, with abundances ranging from 65 to 85% by particle volume. Chemical cluster distribution of silicates has been linked to the major topsoil mineralogical composition in the origin of the episodes. Aspect Ratio (AR) has been used to compare particle morphology between episodes. AR values from samples taken under the same scenarios are statistically equal. For all the samples and size ranges AR values are found to be in the same order: AR_sulphates > AR_silicates > AR_carbonates. Particles not only maintained morphology during the episode, but also chemical composition, since clusters turned out to be very similar in samples taken on the same day and different days. Similarities and differences in particle chemical composition and morphology between the different transport patterns are discussed in detail throughout the paper.     

Factors influencing the ground level distribution of ozone in Europe

Ozone is a widely distributed pollutant in the atmospheric boundary layer over north west Europe. Three main sources have been identified: the stratosphere, the free troposphere and boundary layer photochemical production. The pattern of ground level ozone concentrations resulting from these three sources cannot be accurately specified. Ozone shows significant variations in space and time but because of the high cost of continuous monitoring equipment, spatial variations on a national and international basis have not been studied in detail. Variations in ozone concentrations at individual monitoring sites have been given a great deal of attention and experience gained from United Kingdom monitoring sites is described in some detail. The averaging time statistical model of Larsen is employed to relate the exposure levels measured over different averaging periods. Diurnal variations have a major influence on exposure levels at sites nominally exposed to the same regional ozone distribution. The physical and chemical mechanisms which give rise to diurnal variations are detailed so that sites can be screened for different diurnal behaviour characteristics.     

Characteristics of Road Dust from Different Sampling Sites in Northern Taiwan

Abstract

Road dust contributes a large percentage of the atmosphere’s suspended particles in Taiwan. Three road dust samples were collected from downtown, electrical park, and freeway tunnel areas. A mechanical sieve separated the road dust in the initial stage. Particles >100 μm were 75%, 70%, and 60% (wt/wt), respectively, of the samples. Those particles <37 μm were resuspended in another mixing chamber and then collected by a Moudi particle sampler. The largest mass fraction of resuspended road dust was in the range of 1–10 μm. Ultrafine particles (<1 μm) composed 33.7, 17, and 7.4% of the particle samples (downtown, electrical park, and freeway tunnel, respectively). The road dust compositions were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emissions spectroscopy and ICP-mass spectrometry. The highest concentration fraction contained more aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), and potassium than other elements in the road dust particle samples. Additionally, the sulfur (S) content in the road dust from the electrical park and freeway tunnel areas was 2.1 and 3.4 times the downtown area sample, respectively. The sulfur originated from the vehicle and boiler oil combustion and industrial manufacturing processes. Furthermore, zinc (Zn) concentration in the tunnel dust was 2.6 times that of the downtown and electrical park samples, which can be attributed to vehicle tire wear and tear. Resuspended road dusts (<10 μm) from the downtown and freeway tunnel areas were principally 2.5–10 μm Al, barium (Ba), Ca, copper (Cu), Fe, magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), antimony (Sb), and Zn, whereas arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) were predominant in the ultrafine particle samples (<1 μm). Al, Ba, and Ca are the typical soil elements in coarse particles; and As, and Cr and Ni are the typical fingerprint of oil combustion and vehicle engine abrasion in ultrafine particles. There was a special characteristic of resuspension road dust at electrical park, that is, many elements, including As, Ba, Ca, cadmium, Cr, Cu, Fe, manganese (Mn), Ni, lead (Pb), S, vanadium (V), and Zn, were major in ultrafine particles. These elements should be attributed to the special manufacturing processes of electric products.     

The long-range transport of aerosols from northern China to Hong Kong – a multi-technique study

The results of the inorganic and organic analyses of aerosol samples collected on the east and west sides of Hong Kong during a dust episode (9–10 May 1996) are reported. The origin of the dust was traced to Northern China. The dust reached Hong Kong by way of the East China Sea. The characteristics of the inorganic elements and organic compounds were quite different from the non-episodic samples collected on 1–2 April 1996, EPD (Environmental Protection Department, Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China) results for April–May 1994, and our early studies (Zheng et al., 1997. Atmospheric Environment 31(2), 227–237.). Results from X-ray spectrometry showed pronounced increase in the relative abundance of Al, Fe, Ca, S and Cl in the dust samples compared to the non-episodic samples. The high abundance of Cl in the dust samples suggested the aerosols experienced long-range transport by way of the sea. ICP-MS analysis revealed higher concentrations of Fe, Ca, S and Pb in the episodic samples relative to the values measured during April–May 1994 by EPD. The high Ca content in the soil samples is a characteristic of northern Chinese crustal material (Liu et al., 1985). Hong Kong aerosols are characterized by high octadecenoic acid concentration due to heavy urbanization and Chinese-style stir-fry cooking. A much lower C_18:1/C_18:0 ratio was found in the episodic samples, however, suggesting the aerosols were transported from a long distance. The high ratio of ⩾C₂₀/<C₂₀ in n-alkanoic acids, the high input of n-alkanes and n-alkanols from plant waxes, and the unusually similar distribution of the organic compounds in the east and west samples suggested the existence of non-local sources on 9–10 May 1996. The compositions and distributions of lipids in the aerosol samples collected during the episode corresponded well with those of the eolian dust samples over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Back trajectories and low altitude (<3 km) mesoscale flow modeling were performed, suggesting the existence of a mesoscale atmospheric structure off the east China coast, which could be responsible for the dust episode. Surface charts indicated the presence of suspended dust near Shanghai on 8 May 1996. Taiwan also experienced a similar episode on 8–9 May 1996. This integrated, multi-technique approach provides clear evidence that the 9–10 May episode was attributed to a consequence of Asian Dust. This is the first scientific report of Asian Dust in Hong Kong.     

机动车单车扬尘浓度分布规律的模拟

为了掌握汽车扬尘中PM10污染分布特征,采用数值模拟的方法对汽车扬尘PM10浓度分布规律及其影响因素进行了研究,分析了车速、积尘负荷对汽车扬尘PM10浓度的影响.结果表明,车速与扬尘运移速率成正比,且车速在20～60 km/h范围内与扬尘高度近似成线性分布;积尘负荷与汽车扬尘PM10平均浓度同比例变化.     

Distribution,sources and pollution status of Pb in indoor and outdoor dusts of Kerman City,SE Iran

The aims of this study were to explore the status of pollution and the temporal/spatial distribution of indoor and outdoor dust-Pb in the city of Kerman (SE Iran), located in a dry playa and arid climatic zone. Flat panes were laid at appropriate locations, in the indoor and the outdoor spaces of selected one-story houses in different areas of the city, to collect dust samples. Forty-two samples were taken and analyzed using the ICP-MS method. The measurements have shown that the outdoor dust-Pb concentrations varied from 23.7 to 275.2?mg kg^?1, with a mean value of 71.8?mg kg^?1, and indoor dust-Pb concentrations ranged from 47.6 to 150.2?mg kg^?1, with a mean value of 89.6?mg kg^?1. Based on these measurements, Pb was enriched in the outdoor and the indoor dust samples up to 48.8 and 29.4 times, respectively. Dilution, as a result of prevalence of geogenic dust in the outdoor space, is expected to be the main cause of the temporal differences. This study has shown that the eastern part of the city is more polluted compared to the other parts, and, because of the stable air conditions, the concentration of Pb in the summer dust is higher than the other seasons.     

Comparisons of the dust/smoke particulate that settled inside the surrounding buildings and outside on the streets of southern New York City after the collapse of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, generated large amounts of dust and smoke that settled in the surrounding indoor and outdoor environments in southern Manhattan. Sixteen dust samples were collected from undisturbed locations inside two uncleaned buildings that were adjacent to Ground Zero. These samples were analyzed for morphology, metals, and organic compounds, and the results were compared with the previously reported outdoor WTC dust/smoke results. We also analyzed seven additional dust samples provided by residents in the local neighborhoods. The morphologic analyses showed that the indoor WTC dust/smoke samples were similar to the outdoor WTC dust/smoke samples in composition and characteristics but with more than 50% mass in the <53-microm size fraction. This was in contrast to the outdoor samples that contained >50% of mass above >53 microm. Elemental analyses also showed the similarities, but at lower concentrations. Organic compounds present in the outdoor samples were also detected in the indoor samples. Conversely, the resident-provided convenience dust samples were different from either the WTC indoor or outdoor samples in composition and pH, indicating that they were not WTC-affected locations. In summary, the indoor dust/smoke was similar in concentration to the outdoor dust/smoke but had a greater percentage of mass <53 microm in diameter.     

On the Evaluation of Predictions from a Gaussian Plume Model

The performance of a CRSTER equivalent Gaussian plume model (CEQM) is examined using data from the EPRI Plume Model Validation study at the Klncaid, Illinois site. Four-way comparisons are made on the ordered statistics or the cumulative frequency distribution (CFD) of maximum hourly observed and predicted concentrations. Using the uniform random distribution and the lognormal random distribution as simple predictive schemes without any physical context, it Is found that the CEQM predicts a concentration CFD which matches the observed CFD significantly closer than the CFD predicted by the uniform random distribution. The two-parameter lognormal random distribution predicts the concentration CFD better than the CEQM over all concentration ranges; however, the CEQM fits the upper range of the concentration distribution better than the lognormal random distribution,, despite the fact that the predictions are generated using dispersion conditions entirely different from those of the observations. The nature of this ergodicity of distribution is probed by exercising CEQM using randomized input based on the observed frequency distributions of the Input parameters instead of feeding the hour-by-hour model input matched by time into CEQM as is customarily done. The exercise of the model by uncoupling the time linkage in model Input has no systematic effect on the predicted cumulative frequency distribution of concentrations. Only at the highest concentration range (99.5% or higher) do the two sets of predictions begin to diverge.