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Volume 16
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Mapping Invisible Risk: A Low-Cost Strategy for Identifying Air and Noise Pollution in Latin American Cities

by
Lucas Ezequiel Romero Cortés
1,
Iván Tavera Busso
1,2,
Gabriela Alejandra Abril
1,
Matías Ezequiel Reinaudi
1,2,
Hebe Alejandra Carreras
1,2 and
Ana Carolina Mateos
1,2,*
1
Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal, Área de Contaminación y Bioindicadores—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IMBIV-CONICET), Córdoba X5016GCN, Argentina
2
Cátedra de Química General, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (FCEFyN-UNC), Córdoba X5016GCA, Argentina
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atmosphere 2025, 16(11), 1303; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111303
Submission received: 24 October 2025 / Revised: 10 November 2025 / Accepted: 13 November 2025 / Published: 18 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution and Traffic-Related Contaminants: Sources, Impacts and Challenges)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Urban populations in Latin America are highly exposed to traffic-related pollutants, yet monitoring networks remain limited. This study proposes a low-cost methodology to identify urban pollution hotspots in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, by categorizing 20 sites based on traffic categories using Google Traffic data. Measurements of PM2.5, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and equivalent sound pressure level (LAeq) were conducted over a 21-day cold-season period. Mean PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 7.5 to 27.3 µg/m3, and total PAHs ranged from 1.4 to 7.9 ng/m3. Sites with high and medium traffic density exhibited significantly higher PAH concentrations and noise levels, with LAeq5 values exceeding 65 dB at all urban core locations. Conversely, PM2.5 concentrations were higher at peripheral sites due to topography, dust resuspension, and wildfire events. Strong correlations were found between vehicular flow and noise (r = 0.94), and between heavy-vehicle proportion and noise (r = 0.60). The lifetime lung cancer risk associated with PAH exposure was classified as “low” according to USEPA criteria. This traffic-based categorization approach provides a rapid and cost-effective tool for identifying high-risk areas in resource-limited settings, supporting urban planning and public health interventions.
Keywords: urban air pollution; traffic categorization; PM2.5; PAHs; environmental noise exposure; low-cost risk assessment tools urban air pollution; traffic categorization; PM2.5; PAHs; environmental noise exposure; low-cost risk assessment tools

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MDPI and ACS Style

Romero Cortés, L.E.; Tavera Busso, I.; Abril, G.A.; Reinaudi, M.E.; Carreras, H.A.; Mateos, A.C. Mapping Invisible Risk: A Low-Cost Strategy for Identifying Air and Noise Pollution in Latin American Cities. Atmosphere 2025, 16, 1303. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111303

AMA Style

Romero Cortés LE, Tavera Busso I, Abril GA, Reinaudi ME, Carreras HA, Mateos AC. Mapping Invisible Risk: A Low-Cost Strategy for Identifying Air and Noise Pollution in Latin American Cities. Atmosphere. 2025; 16(11):1303. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111303

Chicago/Turabian Style

Romero Cortés, Lucas Ezequiel, Iván Tavera Busso, Gabriela Alejandra Abril, Matías Ezequiel Reinaudi, Hebe Alejandra Carreras, and Ana Carolina Mateos. 2025. "Mapping Invisible Risk: A Low-Cost Strategy for Identifying Air and Noise Pollution in Latin American Cities" Atmosphere 16, no. 11: 1303. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111303

APA Style

Romero Cortés, L. E., Tavera Busso, I., Abril, G. A., Reinaudi, M. E., Carreras, H. A., & Mateos, A. C. (2025). Mapping Invisible Risk: A Low-Cost Strategy for Identifying Air and Noise Pollution in Latin American Cities. Atmosphere, 16(11), 1303. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111303

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