Cyclist exposure to black carbon, ultrafine particles and heavy metals: An experimental study along two commuting routes near Antwerp, Belgium
- Laboratory of Environmental and Urban Ecology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium)
- Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium)
- Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology Purification (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium)
Highlights: • Wearable UFP and BC instrumentation was carried along whilst cycling 2 different commuting routes. • HR-ICP-MS provided elemental information on railway- and roadside-exposed routes. • Heart rate was tracked simultaneously to estimate the personal inhaled pollutant dose. • The bicycle highway route exhibited 300% lower BC and 20% lower UFP concentrations. • Elemental differences are observed between the considered commuting routes. Urban environments typically exhibit large atmospheric pollution variation, in both space and time. In contrast to traditional monitoring networks suffering from a limited spatial coverage, mobile platforms enable personalized high-resolution monitoring, providing valuable insights into personal atmospheric pollution exposure, and the identification of potential pollution hotspots. This study evaluated personal cyclist exposure to UFPs, BC and heavy metals whilst commuting near Antwerp, Belgium, by performing mobile measurements with wearable black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particle (UFP) instruments. Loaded micro-aethalometer filterstrips were chemically analysed and the inhaled pollutant dose determined from the exhibited heart rate. Considerable spatial pollutant variation was observed along the travelled routes, with distinct contributions from spatial factors (e.g. traffic intersections, urban park and market) and temporary events. On average 300% higher BC, 20% higher UFP and changing elemental concentrations are observed along the road traffic route (RT), when compared to the bicycle highway route (BH). Although the overall background pollution determines a large portion of the experienced personal exposure (in this case 53% for BC and 40% for UFP), cyclists can influence their personal atmospheric pollution exposure, by selecting less exposed commuting routes. Our results, hereby, strengthen the body of evidence in favour of further policy investments in isolated bicycle infrastructure.
- OSTI ID:
- 23095620
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research, Vol. 164; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0013-9351
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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