The Effect of Route Choice in Children’s Exposure to Ultrafine Particles Whilst Walking to School

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15499798
AutoresMehrdad Rafiepourgatabi (0000-0002-9453-4585, University of Auckland, autor de correspondencia), Alistair Woodward (0000-0001-5425-6018, University of Auckland), Jennifer Salmond (0000-0001-5670-7724, University of Auckland), Kim N Dirks (0000-0003-4371-1323, University of Auckland)
Año2021
Volumen18
Número15
Páginas7808-7808
Fecha de publicación2021-07-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18157808
PMID34360102
OpenAlexW3186208206
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas39

Children walking to school are at a high risk of exposure to air pollution compared with other modes because of the time they spend in close proximity to traffic during their commute. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a walker's route choice on their exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) on the walk to school. During morning commutes over a period of three weeks, exposure to UFP was measured along three routes: two routes were alongside both sides of a busy arterial road with significantly higher levels of traffic on one side compared to the other, and the third route passed through quiet streets (the background route). The results indicate that the mean exposure for the pedestrian walking along the background route was half the exposure experienced on the other two routes. Walkers on the trafficked side were exposed to elevated concentrations (>100,000 pt/cc) 2.5 times longer than the low-trafficked side. However, the duration of the elevated exposure for the background route was close to zero. Public health officials and urban planners may use the results of this study to promote healthier walking routes to schools, especially those planned as part of organized commutes

Environmental health · Morning · Pedestrian · Physics · QUIET · Transport engineering · Ultrafine particle · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Engineering · Medicine · Urban Transport and Accessibility · Vehicle emissions and performance