Sources of Fine Organic Aerosol. 6. Cigaret Smoke in the Urban Atmosphere

Molecular marker compounds that can be used to trace smoke particles in the outdoor urban atmosphere identified. While the most abundant resolved organic present are nitrogen-containing heterocyclics (e.g., nicotine), other potential tracers that will be more in the outdoor urban atmosphere also are found. - and anteisoalkanes (C_(29)-C_(34)) are enriched in cigarette smoke particles and show a concentration pattern characteristic of tobacco leaf surface waxes that is distinctly different from leaf surface abrasion products shed from plant leaves that grow in the Los Angeles area. Relative to major leaf surface wax n-alkanes, these iso- and are enriched by a factor of more than 40 tobacco and tobacco smoke particles as compared to surface waxes from Los Angeles area plants. It is that the iso- and anteisoalkanes concentration generated by cigarette smoke is preserved in the atmosphere and is measured at levels that are to emissions estimates based on daily cigarette . Using these marker compounds, ambient cigarette smoke particles are estimated to be present a concentration of 0.28-0.36 µg m^(-3) in the Los Angeles air, accounting for 1.0-1.3% of the fine particle concentration.