Analysis of In-Vehicle Black Carbon Exposure and Trip Characteristics Using GPS Logs and Diaries

Poster SP-26 presented at ISEE 2012 Seattle, USA. Title: Analysis of In-vehicle Black Carbon Exposure and Trip Characteristics Using GPS Logs and Diaries Abstract: Background: Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are being used more frequently in health research. To limit respondent burden, and because of technical problems with the development of miniaturized air quality sensors; exposure is determined afterwards by linking GPS traces with air pollution models or nearby monitoring stations. In-vehicle exposure may however be not only related to yearly averaged outdoor concentrations. Objectives: To investigate whether the levels of in-vehicle Black Carbon (BC) concentrations are influenced by trip duration, hour of the day, traffic intensities, and spatial parameters like degree of urbanization or road type. Methods: Personal exposure measurements were done using µ-aethalometers, trip diaries and GPS devices. More than 1000 car-trips were evaluated in Flanders, Belgium. GPS coordinates were assigned to road segments to allow BC concentrations to be linked with trip and road characteristics. Results: Due to loss of signal, technical issues or participant’s error, 30% of all car trips had no GPS coordinates. If the distance between a GPS point and the closest road with known traffic intensities was larger than 30m, the observation was omitted (23% of all recorded coordinates). Average BC concentrations on highways are comparable to concentrations on urban roads (8.3 µg/m3), but almost double the concentrations on rural roads (4.7 µg/m3). BC concentrations are elevated at lower speeds (<30 km/h) and at speeds above 80 km/h. Driving on roads with low instantaneous traffic intensities resulted in lower exposures than driving on roads with higher traffic intensities. Concentrations on traffic peak hours are higher compared to off-peak hours. We found no evidence of a buildup of BC particles inside a vehicle; but there is a link between trip length and use of certain road types. Conclusions: We found evidence that BC concentrations in vehicles depend on speed, timing of the trip, degree of urbanization, and traffic intensities

Host and environmental predictors of exhaled breath temperature in the elderly

BACKGROUND: Exhaled breath temperature has been suggested as a new method to detect and monitor pathological processes in the respiratory system. The putative mechanism of this approach is based upon changes in the blood flow. So far potential factors that influence breath temperature have not been studied in the general population. METHODS: The exhaled breath temperature was measured in 151 healthy non-smoking elderly (aged: 60–80 years) at room temperature with the X-halo device with an accuracy of 0.03°C. We related exhaled breath temperature by use of regression models with potential predictors including: host factors (sex, age) and environmental factors (BMI, physical activity, and traffic indicators). RESULTS: Exhaled breath temperature was lower in women than in men and was inversely associated with age, physical activity. BMI and daily average ambient temperature were positively associated with exhaled breath temperature. Independent of the aforementioned covariates, exhaled breath temperature was significantly associated with several traffic indicators. Residential proximity to major road was inversely associated with exhaled breath temperature: doubling the distance to the nearest major intense road was observed a decrease of 0.17°C (95% CI: -0.33 to -0.01; p = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: Exhaled breath temperature has been suggested as a noninvasive method for the evaluation of airway inflammation. We provide evidence that several factors known to be involved in proinflammatory conditions including BMI, physical activity and residential proximity to traffic affect exhaled breath temperature. In addition, we identified potential confounders that should be taken into account in clinical and epidemiological studies on exhaled breath temperature including sex, age, and ambient temperature

Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): a study protocol for a multicentre project

Introduction: Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA. The European research project Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) pursues the following aims: (1) to investigate correlates and interrelations of AM, PA, air pollution and crash risk; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected interventions to promote AM; (3) to improve health impact assessment (HIA) of AM; (4) to foster the exchange between the disciplines of public health and transport planning, and between research and practice. Methods and analysis: PASTA pursues a mixed-method and multilevel approach that is consistently applied in seven case study cities. Determinants of AM and the evaluation of measures to increase AM are investigated through a large scale longitudinal survey, with overall 14 000 respondents participating in Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Örebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Contextual factors are systematically gathered in each city. PASTA generates empirical findings to improve HIA for AM, for example, with estimates of crash risks, factors on AM-PA substitution and carbon emissions savings from mode shifts. Findings from PASTA will inform WHO's online Health Economic Assessment Tool on the health benefits from cycling and/or walking. The study's wide scope, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and health and transport methods, the innovative survey design, the general and city-specific analyses, and the transdisciplinary composition of the consortium and the wider network of partners promise highly relevant insights for research and practice. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained by the local ethics committees in the countries where the work is being conducted, and sent to the European Commission before the start of the survey. The PASTA website (http://www.pastaproject.eu) is at the core of all communication and dissemination activities. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL. Document type: Articl

Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): A study protocol for a multicentre project

Introduction: Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA. The European research project Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) pursues the following aims: (1) to investigate correlates and interrelations of AM, PA, air pollution and crash risk; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected interventions to promote AM; (3) to improve health impact assessment (HIA) of AM; (4) to foster the exchange between the disciplines of public health and transport planning, and between research and practice. Methods and analysis: PASTA pursues a mixed-method and multilevel approach that is consistently applied in seven case study cities. Determinants of AM and the evaluation of measures to increase AM are investigated through a large scale longitudinal survey, with overall 14 000 respondents participating in Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Örebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Contextual factors are systematically gathered in each city. PASTA generates empirical findings to improve HIA for AM, for example, with estimates of crash risks, factors on AM-PA substitution and carbon emissions savings from mode shifts. Findings from PASTA will inform WHO's online Health Economic Assessment Tool on the health benefits from cycling and/or walking. The study's wide scope, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and health and transport methods, the innovative survey design, the general and city-specific analyses, and the transdisciplinary composition of the consortium and the wider network of partners promise highly relevant insights for research and practice. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained by the local ethics committees in the countries where the work is being conducted, and sent to the European Commission before the start of the survey. The PASTA website (http://www.pastaproject.eu) is at the core of all communication and dissemination activities. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL

CurieuzeNeuzen Vlaanderen: Dynamische blootstelling

20.000 burgers kregen dankzij het citizen science project 'CurieuzeNeuzen' zicht op de luchtkwaliteit (stikstofdioxide) aan hun voordeur. Maar de echte blootstelling hangt af van een complexe combinatie van blootstellingen op alle plaatsen waar iemand zich begeeft. Wetenschappers van UHasselt en HIVA focusten op het verplaatsingsgedrag van 5000 deelnemende burgerwetenschappers, om zo een nauwkeurigere inschatting te kunnen maken van de blootstelling aan stikstofdioxide doorheen de dagstatus: publishe

Modeling personal exposure to air pollution with AB²C: Environmental inequality

Abstract The AB²C model (Activity-Based modeling framework for Black Carbon exposure assessment) was developed to assess personal exposure to air pollution, more specifically black carbon. Currently the model calculates exposure in Flanders, an urbanized region in Western Europe. This model is characterized by the use of time-activity patterns, and air pollution concentrations with a high spatial and temporal resolution, including indoors and in the transport microenvironment. This model can be used for disaggregated exposure assessment or the evaluation of policy scenarios. In this paper, exposure of people from a lower socioeconomic class (SEC) is compared to the exposure of people from a higher SEC. In most North American studies, it is reported that poorer people are exposed to higher concentrations and suffer more from health effects associated with elevated exposure to air pollution. In Europe, fewer studies exist in this field, and results are not always conclusive. In this study, people from a lower SEC were found to be exposed to higher concentrations at home, but &apos;richer&apos; people travel more, especially in traffic peak hours. This results in an average exposure that is higher for members of a lower SEC, but inhaled doses are similar in both groups. This analysis suggests that differences in health impact between the groups are almost completely explainable by increased susceptibility to air pollution health effects, and not by increased air pollutant intake

Using an activity-based framework to determine effects of a policy measure on population exposure to nitrogen dioxide

Few studies have modeled the effects of policy measures on population exposure. This work assessed for the first time the impact of a policy measure on population exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) by using the activity-based model ALBATROSS. Activity-based models can be of great value in evaluating the effect of integrated policies and measures that have no obvious relation with transport or air quality. The scenario considered in this study involved changing the hours during which shops could be open to allow shopping earlier in the morning and later in the evening. Both emissions and population distribution of this policy measure could be derived from the activity travel behavior predicted by the activity-based model. It was found that extending the opening hours changed the activity pattern of the adult population in the Netherlands. Approximately 6% more nondaily and 0.5% more daily shopping hours were predicted. The change in activity pattern resulted in more transport (+0.5% more vehicle kilometers driven). As a consequence of this, emissions and air pollutant concentrations were also altered. When the concentration maps were matched with the dynamic population, an increase in population exposure to NO 2 was observed. Absolute differences were small (up to 0.40 μg/m 3). On an average weekday, NO 2 exposure increased by 0.15 μg/m 3. The relative change in exposure on an average weekday was 0.4%. In certain neighborhoods and at certain hours a more substantial increase could be observed