Personal measurement of exposure to black carbon and ultrafine particles in schoolchildren from PARIS cohort (Paris, France)

Abstract

This study aimed to measure in French children personal exposure concentrations of black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particles (UFP) and to quantify the contribution of different microenvironments (home, school, places of extracurricular activities, transport) to their total exposure. It was conducted on 96 9-year-old children from the PARIS birth cohort. BC and UFP were continuously measured by portable devices (microAeth AE51 and DiSCmini ) for a minimum of 24 hours, while participating families simultaneously filled in a space-time-activities-budget questionnaire. BC exposure concentration was higher during trips (principally metro/train and bus), while UFP exposure concentration was higher during indoor activities (mainly eating at restaurants) and in trips. The most important UFP peaks were measured at home, especially during cooking. Home and school together accounted for much of the total exposure, 83.8% for BC and 85.3% for UFP. The contribution of transport to total exposure was 12.4% for BC and 9.7% for UFP, while extracurricular activities were responsible for 3.8% and 5% of the total exposure to BC and UFP, respectively.

Exposure to ultrafine particles in children until 18 years of age: A systematic review

“…The measuring periods in most of the studies were 24 or 48 hours . Conversely, the analysis periods of Wangchuk et al (2015), Leaffer et al, and both studies carried out by Dirks et al were shorter: 8 hours on three consecutive days, 3 hours during seven winter days and seven summer days, and only the time during transportation to school, respectively (Table ).…”

“…Of the 32 articles that fulfilled our criteria, 22 quantified UFP levels in children's specific microenvironments (Table ; Figure and ), while the other 10 studies that were selected measured children's personal exposure to UFP by means of active samplers carried by children (Table ; Figure ). Among the studies regarding microenvironment exposures, 18 (82%) referred to UFP levels in schools or nurseries, 3 referred to transport (2 to schools and 1 to baby prams), 1 considered the UFP levels in heavily trafficked streets, and 2 measured levels in homes .…”

“…Most of the studies were carried out in Europe: 4 in Italy, 2 in Greece, 5 in Portugal, 1 in France, 2 in United Kingdom, and 5 in Spain . Five were conducted in Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), 7 in America (5 in United States and 2 in Canada), and 3 in Asia (Bhutan, Korea, and Indonesia) .…”

“…Wangchuk et al estimated personal exposure of children from three different schools in Bhutan situated at three altitudes (1400, 1600, and 1900 m) and under different traffic conditions. Buonanno et al, Mazaheri et al Paunescu et al and Leaffer et al analyzed the personal exposure of children without dividing them into groups (Table ). Both et al studied the differences in UFP exposure between transport and the rest of the microenvironments and between children and adults.…”

“…The age of the children was similar in all the studies, between 8 and 13 years (Table ). The cohorts of Buonanno et al and Mazaheri et al included children between 8 and 11 years old, while the average age in the cohorts examined by Pañella et al and Paunescu et al was 9 years old. Wangchuk et al’s cohort was wider, involving children between 9 and 13 years old.…”