Commuter exposure and inhaled dose of particulate matter in four common modes of transport in Lisbon
Title: Commuter exposure and inhaled dose of particulate matter in four common modes of transport in Lisbon
Summary: Correia C., Martins V., Cunha-Lopes I., Faria T., Diapouli E., Eleftheriadis K., Almeida S.M.
Abstract:
Exposure to air pollutants, namely particulate matter (PM), is particularly high in the transports microenvironment due to the proximity to mobile sources. Commuters spend a considerable amount of time in this microenvironment, which may result in adverse effects on human health. Despite de fact that there has been an increase in the implementation of measures aiming at reducing the citizen’s exposure to air pollutants, the problem persists. To conceive policies aiming at reducing the number of exceedances and the pollutants concentrations, it is fundamental to study air quality in the area of study. This study aims to assess commuters’ exposure to PM in the modes of transport most frequently used in the city of Lisbon.
Field measurements were performed in car, bicycle, metro and bus mode in a representative route of the daily commutes of the citizens, covering a distance of 6.7 km from the residential area of Telheiras to Praça dos Restauradores in the city centre. Measurements were performed in five periods of the day (at 8h, 10h30, 13h, 18h and 20h) during 21 weekdays from June to October 2018 in a 105 set of periods of measurement. Mass concentration of particles with aerodynamic diameter (AD) smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and 10 μm (PM10), black carbon (BC) and number concentration of particles with AD from 0.01 to 1 μm (PN0.01-1) were measured. There was no control over the ventilation system in buses. Considering the measurements in cars, in order to cover a wide range of exposure conditions, measurements were performed in private cars powered by different types of fuel and using different types of ventilation.
Results show that average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher in the metro, whereas BC and PN0.01-1 average concentrations were higher in car and bus journeys, respectively. Inside cars, PM2.5, PM10 and BC concentrations were clearly influenced by the use or disuse of ventilation. In fact, the ventilation system that most of the cars used in this study appeared not to have efficiently removed the BC from the outdoor air. On the contrary, the use of ventilation appeared to have a reducing effect on PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations from the air that enters in the car cabin. For all the pollutants, the highest concentrations were measured in the streets where traffic density was higher and where the street morphology did not allow the dispersion of pollutants.
The highest inhaled doses, as shown in figure 1, were measured in bicycle journeys due to the greater inhalation rates and travel times associated to this transport mode.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by LIFE Index-Air project (LIFE15 ENV/PT/000674). Authors gratefully acknowledge the FCT support through the UID/Multi/04349/2013 project and the PhD grant SFRH/BD/129149/2017. This work reflects only the authors’ view and EASME is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Type of publication: Oral Abstract of ICEH 2019 (Lisbon, Portugal, 25-27 September)
How to cite: Correia C., Martins V., Cunha-Lopes I., Faria T., Diapouli E., Eleftheriadis K., Almeida S.M. (2019) Commuter exposure and inhaled dose of particulate matter in four common modes of transport in Lisbon. ICEH 2019 – 4th International Congress on Environmental Health, Lisbon, Portugal, 25-27 September.
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