# The Impact of Hospitality on Air Quality at a Major Sporting Event

## TL;DR

The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham saw high air pollution due to food cooking at the event, with particulate matter levels up to 10 times higher than usual.

## Contribution

This study identifies cooking aerosols as the main source of particulate pollution at large sporting events using chemical speciation and PMF analysis.

## Key findings

- PM2.5 concentrations near the stadium were up to 10 times higher than urban background levels during events.
- Cooking aerosols accounted for 71% of total PM mass during athletic sessions.
- High particulate matter exposure was linked to temporary concession stands serving fast food.

## Abstract

Large scale sporting
and cultural events attract many spectators
to a single site, leading to changed emissions and potentially creating
local air pollution hot spots. Here, we monitored the air quality
during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, held from July 28th
to August 8th, 2022, with 323,000 spectators attending the athletics
events, including during the opening and closing ceremonies at the
(open air) Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, UK. Particulate (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations in fan areas around
the stadium peaked ahead of the athletics events and opening and closing
ceremonies with PM2.5 concentrations up to 10 times higher
than at nearby urban background monitoring stations. For a spectator
attending a full day of events at Alexander Stadium, this would represent
a 125% increase in their exposure to PM2.5 relative to
the urban background. Nonrefractory particulate composition in these
periods was dominated by organics. Four factors were identified from
Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis of particle composition
data recorded using a Quadrupole Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor
(Q-ACSM): two representing cooking aerosol accounting for 71% of the
total PM mass during the athletic sessions demonstrating that cooking
sources were responsible for the majority of particulate pollution
at the venue. The high particulate concentrations at this venue were
driven by fast food production at temporary concession stands, common
across many large events, leading to a large increase in particulate
matter exposure for staff and visitors.