The reduction of summer sulfate and switch from summertime to wintertime PM concentration maxima in the United States.

Exposure to particulate matter air pollution with a nominal mean aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM) has been associated with health effects including cardiovascular disease and death. Here, we add to the understanding of urban and rural PM concentrations over large spatial and temporal scales in recent years. We used high-quality, publicly-available air quality monitoring data to evaluate PM concentration patterns and changes during the years 2000-2015. Compiling and averaging measurements collected across the U.S. revealed that PM concentrations from urban sites experienced seasonal maxima in both winter and summer. Within each year from 2000 to 2008, the maxima of urban summer peaks were greater than winter peaks. However, from 2012 to 2015, the maxima of urban summertime PM peaks were smaller than the urban wintertime PM maxima, due to a decrease in the magnitude of summertime maxima with no corresponding decrease in the magnitude of winter maxima. PM measurements at rural sites displayed summer peaks with magnitudes relatively similar to those of urban sites, and negligible to no winter peaks through the time period analyzed. Seasonal variations of urban and rural PM sulfate, PM nitrate, and PM organic carbon (OC) were also assessed. Summer peaks in PM sulfate decreased dramatically between 2000 and 2015, whereas seasonal PM OC and winter PM nitrate concentration maxima remained fairly consistent. These findings demonstrate that PM concentrations, especially those occurring in the summertime, have declined in the U.S. from 2000 to 2015. In addition, reduction strategies targeting sulfate have been successful and the decrease in PM sulfate contributed to the decline in total PM.