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Title:

Intake of Air Pollutants by Cyclists in Urban Environments: Characterization Using Low-Cost Mobile Monitoring

Accession Number:

01587821

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

In recent years, commuting by bicycle has been encouraged as a way of improving health and fitness. However, some studies have shown that although cyclists do not create air pollution, they experience increased exposure to air pollution compared to other road users. Moreover, air pollution exposure is associated with increased risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. In order to understand the extent of the health risk faced by cyclists due to air pollution, it is essential to be able to quantify the pollution exposures of cyclists and the contributions of factors such as traffic volumes, cycling facilities and meteorological conditions. Until recently, gaseous pollution sensors were prohibitively large and expensive and/or had poor temporal resolution. However, recent advances in electrochemical sensor technology and low power electronics present an opportunity to characterize the pollution exposure of cyclists at high spatial and temporal resolution. This study presents the development and validation of a custom sensing platform incorporating a low cost NOₓ sensor. The platform is used along with a heart rate monitor and GPS tracking to explore the air pollution exposure concentrations and intake rate of a cyclist on two routes in Dublin city. Mixed linear models are used to explore the effects of variables relating to the road network, the weather and cyclist behavior. It has been found that cycle lanes adjacent to the road reduce NOₓ exposure concentrations by 32% and bus lanes increase NOₓ exposure concentrations by 12% compared to on-road cycling. NOₓ intake per meter was not significantly associated with the type of cycling facility. These results may aid urban planners in designing cycling facilities in order to mitigate the health impacts of air pollution.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD50 Standing Committee on Environmental Justice in Transportation.

Monograph Accession #:

01584066

Report/Paper Numbers:

16-3447

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Doorley, Ronan
de Courcy, Conor
Pilla, Francesco
Pakrashi, Vikram
Ghosh, Bidisha

Pagination:

14p

Publication Date:

2016

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables

Geographic Terms:

Dublin (Ireland)

Subject Areas:

Environment; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; I15: Environment; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-3447

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 12 2016 5:31PM