Cyclist route choice, traffic-related air pollution, and lung function: a scripted exposure study

Environmental Health

Research

Audrey de Nazelle¹  Dane Westerdahl²  Michael Jerrett³  Laura Daly³  Cooper Hanning³  Jonah Lipsitt³  Sarah Jarjour³  John Balmes⁴ 

[1] Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Doctor Aiguader, 88, Barcelona, Spain;Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;University of California, Berkeley, 50 University Hall, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA;University of California, Berkeley, 50 University Hall, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA;University of California, San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave, SFGH 30, 94110, San Francisco, CA, USA;

关键词: Bicycle boulevards;    Active transportation;    Air pollution;    Lung function;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1476-069X-12-14

 received in 2012-07-03, accepted in 2013-02-04,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA travel mode shift to active transportation such as bicycling would help reduce traffic volume and related air pollution emissions as well as promote increased physical activity level. Cyclists, however, are at risk for exposure to vehicle-related air pollutants due to their proximity to vehicle traffic and elevated respiratory rates. To promote safe bicycle commuting, the City of Berkeley, California, has designated a network of residential streets as “Bicycle Boulevards.” We hypothesized that cyclist exposure to air pollution would be lower on these Bicycle Boulevards when compared to busier roads and this elevated exposure may result in reduced lung function.MethodsWe recruited 15 healthy adults to cycle on two routes – a low-traffic Bicycle Boulevard route and a high-traffic route. Each participant cycled on the low-traffic route once and the high-traffic route once. We mounted pollutant monitors and a global positioning system (GPS) on the bicycles. The monitors were all synced to GPS time so pollutant measurements could be spatially plotted. We measured lung function using spirometry before and after each bike ride.ResultsWe found that fine and ultrafine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and black carbon were all elevated on the high-traffic route compared to the low-traffic route. There were no corresponding changes in the lung function of healthy non-asthmatic study subjects. We also found that wind-speed affected pollution concentrations.ConclusionsThese results suggest that by selecting low-traffic Bicycle Boulevards instead of heavily trafficked roads, cyclists can reduce their exposure to vehicle-related air pollution. The lung function results indicate that elevated pollutant exposure may not have acute negative effects on healthy cyclists, but further research is necessary to determine long-term effects on a more diverse population. This study and broader field of research have the potential to encourage policy-makers and city planners to expand infrastructure to promote safe and healthy bicycle commuting.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Jarjour et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013