Volatile Chemical Product Enhancements to Criteria Pollutants in the United States br

Volatile chemical products (VCPs) are a significantsource of reactive organic carbon emissions in the United Stateswith a substantial fraction (>20% by mass) serving as secondaryorganic aerosol (SOA) precursors. Here, we incorporate a newnationwide VCP inventory into the Community Multiscale AirQuality (CMAQ) model with VCP-specific updates to bettermodel air quality impacts. Model results indicate that VCPs mostlyenhance anthropogenic SOA in densely populated areas withpopulation-weighted annual average SOA increasing 15-30% inSouthern California and New York City due to VCP emissions(contribution of 0.2-0.5 mu gm-3). Annually, VCP emissionsenhance total population-weighted PM2.5by similar to 5% in California,similar to 3% in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and 1-2% inmost other states. While the maximum daily 8 h ozone enhancements from VCP emissions are more modest, their influence cancause a several ppb increase on select days in major cities. Printing Inks, Cleaning Products, and Paints and Coatings product usecategories contribute similar to 75% to the modeled VCP-derived SOA and Cleaning Products, Paints and Coatings, and Personal CareProducts contribute similar to 81% to the modeled VCP-derived ozone. Overall, VCPs enhance multiple criteria pollutants throughout theUnited States with the largest impacts in urban cores.