Air pollution exposure monitoring and estimation

Abstract

In Oslo, traffic has been one of the dominating sources of air pollution in the last decade. In one part of the city where most traffic collects, two tunnels were built. A series of before and after studies was carried out in connection with the tunnels in use. Dispersion models were used as a basis for estimating exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in two fractions. Exposure estimates were based on the results of the dispersion model providing estimates of outdoor pollutant concentrations on an hourly basis. The estimates represent concentrations in receptor points and in a square kilometre grid. The estimates were used to assess development of air pollution load in the area, compliance with air quality guidelines, and to provide a basis for quantifying exposure-effect relationships in epidemiological studies. After both tunnels were taken in use, the pollution levels in the study area were lower than when the traffic was on the surface (a drop from 50 to 40 micrograms m-3). Compliance with air quality guidelines and other prescribed values has improved, even if high exposures still exist. The most important residential areas are now much less exposed, while areas around tunnel openings can be in periods exposed to high pollutant concentrations. The daily pattern of exposure shows smaller differences between peak and minimum concentrations than prior to the traffic changes. Exposures at home (in the investigation area) were reduced most, while exposures in other locations than at home showed only a small decrease. Highest hourly exposures are encountered in traffic.

A review and evaluation of intraurban air pollution exposure models

“…With the addition of data concerning the topography of the study area, a model of the road network, and traffic observations, a more realistic representation of the problem is formed. These models have been used for different kinds of pollutants such as TSP (Bartonova et al, 1999), nitrogen oxides (NO x ) (Bartonova et al 1999;Bellander et al, 2001;Nyberg et al, 2000), SO 2 (Nafstad et al, 2003) and CO (Benson, 1989).…”

“…The EPISODE model was used as a basis for the exposure calculations of NO x , NO 2 and PM as the model is capable of assessing the effects of different traffic diversion measures on health and well-being over the Oslo area. In a study also using the dispersion model EPISODE, Bartonova et al (1999) quantified the exposure to NO x and PM in central Oslo, Norway. Estimates represented pollutants concentrations (i.e., NO x and PM) at a 1-km grid resolution.…”

Mobile phone tracking: in support of modelling traffic-related air pollution contribution to individual exposure and its implications for public health impact assessment

“…This particular challenge has been investigated by the UC Berkeley Mobile Millennium project [72] and an Eulerian–Lagrangian cell transmission model for air traffic flow has been developed [76]. In traffic flow conditions, the two most important densities are the critical density ( n c ) and the traffic jam density ( n jam ).…”

Respiratory Health before and after the Opening of a Road Traffic Tunnel: A Planned Evaluation

“…They are often located within densely populated areas, have high traffic volumes, including a substantial proportion of heavy duty vehicles, and pollutants are commonly vented to the external environment through stacks [1]–[3]. However, studies investigating the health impact of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) on communities residing around road tunnels, or their ventilation stacks and portals, are scarce, probably due to difficulty in disentangling health effects associated with general traffic from effects attributable to emissions arising in the tunnels [4].…”