1. Exposure to Air Pollution James Tate and Paul Seakins
University of Leeds
INTRODUCTION:
Everyday we are exposed to pollutants in the air that may affect our health. However, what controls the amount of air pollution people are exposed to?
emissions from transport, power stations and industry;
dispersion in the atmosphere by the wind, both across large areas or within individual city streets; and
where people spend their time
Health effects of air pollution are closely related to an individual person’s exposure, but current legislation relies on:
Continuous air pollution monitoring stations at a few fixed locations; and
Computer Modelling Tools.
These monitoring stations and modelling tools are useful in showing where and how outdoor air pollution levels are varying across the UK. However, they cannot accurately quantify how much air pollution YOU as an individual are exposed to.
As people in the UK spend up to 90% of their time indoors, other factors contribute to exposure – for example, tobacco smoke or emissions from heating and cooking appliances. In addition exposure to pollution whilst travelling inside any vehicle should not be ignored.
Fig 1 – Annual Average Nitrogen Dioxide Concentration Map for London from a atmospheric dispersion model
Fig 2 – Cyclist carrying Pollution Monitor
Fig 3 – Exposure Monitoring Results
RESEARCH METHODS:
Portable air pollution monitoring instruments are lent to volunteers. The volunteers take measurements either whilst travelling along set routes, or as they go about their daily routine.
These air pollution measurements are combined with a GPS (Global Positioning System) device to give a location, or spatial reference. This allows us to track when, where and how much pollution individuals are exposed to.
Currently, we are able to monitor the following air pollutants: Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) to a reasonable level of accuracy. The standard handheld GPS devices we use can now identify a location to within 5 to 10 metres. Together, this equipment gives us a very powerful tool to answer some very important research questions, such as:
How much air pollution are each of us actually exposed to?
Is it the total exposure OR peak exposure to pollutants which have the greatest health effects?
What are the most effective ways of making localised pollution “hot spots” less unpleasant and unhealthy?
ASSOCIATED RESEARCH PROJECTS:
DAPPLE - Dispersion of Air Pollutants and Penetration into the Local Environment
funded ( )
DAPPLE is a four year, £1.6 million research project that aims to answer fundamental questions about city traffic and air pollution. The project will examine the best ways of making localised pollution “hot spots” less unpleasant and unhealthy, and attempt to discover the pollution differences between sections of roads where traffic is accelerating and where traffic is queuing. Field measurements will take place in central London around the junction of Marylebone Road and Gloucester Place, extending as far as Madamme Tussaud’s to the east and 200 metres to the north and south.
Institutions involved are: Imperial College, University of Surrey, University of Leeds, Universities of Bristol and Cambridge, and the University of Reading.
Quantification of population exposure benefits of reducing roadside and urban background pollution concentrations
funded ( )
Health effects of air pollution are closely related to personal exposure, but current assessments of the health benefits of air pollution control policies rely on estimates of outdoor concentrations rather than personal exposure. An innovative modelling approach for CO, NO2 and particulates will be developed that can be used to simulate personal exposures of different population groups across a city, and to assess the impact of roadside concentrations on these exposures.
Both these research projects are linked to:
University of Leeds
Institute for Transport Studies
Instrumented City facility
LANTERN
CONTACTS:
Prof Margaret Bell
James Tate e