Environmental and Natural Resources

February 2007 Mission
Emmett P. Fiske
Richard Gill
John Harrison
Brian N. Tissot
Timothy VanReken

November 2005 Mission
Jeffrey Joireman
Judith Morrison
Pius Ndegwa
William L. Pan
Vikram Yadama

May 2005 Mission
Marc Beutel
Keith Blatner
Stephen Bollens
Candis S. Claiborn
Cheryl Schultz
David Yonge

February 2003 Mission
 Markus Flurry
Richard Gill
Frank Loge
Mark Stephan
Philip Wandschneider

Dr. Candis S. Claiborn received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1980. After graduation, she worked in the petroleum industry for Chevron and then for Atlantic Richfield Corporation. In 1986, she returned to college at North Carolina State University, where she received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. She joined Washington State University in 1991. At WSU, she has collaborated with other researchers in the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research to study atmospheric-biospheric interactions of trace gases, and recently she has developed a research program in atmospheric aerosols, in which she collaborates with her colleagues in LAR, as well as others in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, the Chemistry Department at Eastern Washington University, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Civil and Environmental Engineering
Candis S. Claiborn
Understanding the Sources and Effects of Atmospheric Particles

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Particulate pollution monitoring for regulatory purposes has focused on time-integrated sampling for mass. However, this method is inadequate not only because of poor time resolution and lack of detail on size and chemical composition, but also due to complexities associated with sampling artifacts. Mass concentrations alone do not adequately account for observed adverse health effects associated with particulate matter. Finer time resolution of aerosol concentrations, as well as detailed information on size and chemical composition, provide necessary information to the atmospheric sciences, health sciences, and environmental regulatory communities. Dr. Claiborn has conducted several particulate pollution studies including a long-term monitoring program in Spokane that will shed light on associations between atmospheric particles, their chemical constituents, their sources, and adverse health outcomes. This was the first study to show that respiratory health problems are not increased by windblown dust, which is comprised of larger particles of up to 10 microns in size.

Collaborating with researchers at the University of Washington and at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Claiborn has also examined the carbonaceous fraction of particulate matter in several cities in Washington State. This group of researchers found that the traditional method of sampling particulate matter for organic carbon (OC) (i.e., integrated sampling onto quartz filters) resulted in extremely high adsorption sampling artifacts during indoor air sampling that would lead to significantly overestimating the OC fraction in source attribution studies. The reseachers developed a carbon foam sampling inlet that serves as both a vapor phase organic carbon denuder and a fine particle inlet with a 50% cutpoint of 2.5 micrometers. They examined phase partitioning of semi-volatile organic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both indoor and outdoor environments in Seattle and in Pullman, Washington during the field burning seasons. These studies provide information on chemical constituents of smoke that may be of health concern or that may serve as tracers for biomass smoke. Curently, Dr. Claiborn is conducting field studies to determine emission rates of not only particulate mass, but also for specific chemical species.

Contact Information
Candis S. Claiborn, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
College of Engineering and Architecture

Washington State University
PO Box 642714
Pullman, WA 99164-2714

Telephone: 509-335-8730
E-mail: claiborn@wsu.edu