Is active travel a breath of fresh air? Examining children's exposure to air pollution during the school commute.

Autor: Gilliland J; Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University, London, ON, Canada; School of Health Studies, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada. Electronic address: jgillila@uwo.ca., Maltby M; Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada., Xu X; Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, Canada., Luginaah I; Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada., Loebach J; Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Canada., Shah T; Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology [Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol] 2019 Jun; Vol. 29, pp. 51-57. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Apr 06.
DOI: 10.1016/j.sste.2019.02.004
Abstrakt: The aim of this study was to assess how children's personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) during the school commute is influenced by mode of travel and neighborhood environment in a mid-sized Canadian city. A total of 101 commutes to and from school were tracked using a GPS, and personal exposure to PM 2.5 along commute routes was assessed by spatially-referencing the monitored exposure levels with time-synchronized GPS data. Students who walked to and from school were exposed to lower PM 2.5 concentrations than those in cars or riding the school bus. There was also a significant difference in mean PM 2.5 concentrations by the built environment, with children who walked to school in suburban neighborhoods experiencing higher personal concentrations than children in urban neighborhoods. To reduce children's daily exposure to air pollutants, neighborhoods should be designed to maximize the number of children who are able to walk between home and school.
(Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE