Ultrafine Particle Exposure of Street Users Walking, Cycling, and Driving Along an Urban Residential Roadway

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lee E ; Quiros D ; Wang R ; Zhu Y
• Description:
  Elevated concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs, < 0.1 micro-meters), which have been linked to adverse health effects, are commonly found near roadways. We measured particle number concentration (PNC) across three transportation modes on an urban residential street in Santa Monica, CA: walking, cycling, and driving with windows open and windows closed. We repeated measurements concurrently for nine days during the morning (7:30-9:00), afternoon (12:30- 14:00), and evening (17:00-18:00). We observed approximately 60% PNC reductions when driving with closed with recirculation, relative to modes with direct contact to the outside air (cycling, walking, and driving with windows open). Afternoon and evening period PNC was approximately 75% lower than morning period PNC. We found nearly four times higher exposure to commuters cycling and walking due to higher ventilation rates and longer durations per round trip. We found positive associations between PNC and road grade and proximity to intersections. We classified on-roadway fleet by vehicle type from video recorded footage, and found our measured PNC originated approximately 30% from older (before 1980) gasoline vehicles, approximately 40% from newer gasoline vehicles, and approximately 30% from diesel trucks (school buses, garbage trucks, and heavy-duty diesel trucks). This is one of the first transportation mode comparison studies in the United States for assessment of commuter exposure to UFPs and other air pollutants. The study site is currently under redesign construction and when completed will meet the California Complete Streets Act standards. Our study serves as a baseline condition for UFP exposure across all street users. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Transportation Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Automotive Emissions Particulates Ultrafine Particles
• Publisher:
  American Association for Aerosol Research
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055868
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the AAAR 31st Annual Conference, October 8-12, 2012, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mount Laurel, NJ: American Association for Aerosol Research, 2012 Oct; :5UA.8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the AAAR 31st Annual Conference, October 8-12, 2012, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e11e31746919a01705940e5420cdb7e6d9ee8a9acfbbac4d890c91145698c9295574472a7b54f9b2df0d8796e4da744f16ca94d6e5866041305ed93834a9ce7c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213628/cdc_213628_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.29 KB ]