PM2.5 on the London Underground

Smith, Jane; Barratt, Benjamin; Fuller, Gary W.; Kelly, Frank J.; Loxham, Matthew; Nicolosi, Eleonora M.G.; Priestman, Max; Tremper, Anja H.; Green, David C.

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105188

Cited by 70 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…London are up to 26 times more polluted than the ambient background locations and the roadside environment (that have median PM2.5 level of 14 μg m −3 [26]). Moreover, the average NO2 concentrations within the LU network was reported to be 51 μg m −3 [27]; which is 27.5% higher than the NO2 limit values for the protection of human health [28].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As per TfL's guidance to LU users [25], 40 LU stations across its network were closed as part of the UK Government's response to COVID-19. The median PM2.5 levels recorded by [26] for 27 of these 40 closed stations range from 0-50 μg m −3 (5 stations), 50-100 μg m −3 (9 stations), 100-200 5 μg m −3 (5 stations), 200-300 μg m −3 (6 stations) and greater than 300 μg m −3 (2 stations) (see Table S1). Of the 230 operating stations, the median PM2.5 levels recorded for 219 stations range from 0-50 μg m −3 (56 stations), 50-100 μg m −3 (15 stations), 100-200 μg m −3 (15 stations), 200-300 μg m −3 (18 stations) and greater than 300 μg m −3 (7 stations) [26] (see Table S1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality

Sasidharan

Singh

Torbaghan

et al. 2020

Preprint

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An ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R 2 >0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R 2 >0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 15 fatality and NO2 and PM2.5 pollution concentrations were also found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city's vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public 20 transport's response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality

Sasidharan

Singh

Torbaghan

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…The main sources of metal emissions to air in the UK include metal smelting and refining processes, as well as transport and domestic biomass burning [ 8 ], and the most abundant metal is iron, with concentrations typically representing up to 1% of the aerosol mass and fluctuating between 400 and 600 ng/m 3 in the last two decades [ 8 ]. Higher concentrations have been reported in some locations, including the London Underground where iron has been found to comprise greater than 40% by mass of PM 2.5 [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Iron is also the dominant metal in the ultrafine fraction in the UK [ 13 ] and other countries, including urban settings in China [ 14 ] and Mexico [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmentally Relevant Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Produce Limited Acute Pulmonary Effects in Rats at Realistic Exposure Levels

Guo

Weber

Buckley

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Iron is typically the dominant metal in the ultrafine fraction of airborne particulate matter. Various studies have investigated the toxicity of inhaled nano-sized iron oxide particles (FeOxNPs) but their results have been contradictory, with some indicating no or minor effects and others finding effects including oxidative stress and inflammation. Most studies, however, did not use materials reflecting the characteristics of FeOxNPs present in the environment. We, therefore, analysed the potential toxicity of FeOxNPs of different forms (Fe3O4, α-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3) reflecting the characteristics of high iron content nano-sized particles sampled from the environment, both individually and in a mixture (FeOx-mix). A preliminary in vitro study indicated Fe3O4 and FeOx-mix were more cytotoxic than either form of Fe2O3 in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Follow-up in vitro (0.003, 0.03, 0.3 µg/mL, 24 h) and in vivo (Sprague–Dawley rats, nose-only exposure, 50 µg/m3 and 500 µg/m3, 3 h/d × 3 d) studies therefore focused on these materials. Experiments in vitro explored responses at the molecular level via multi-omics analyses at concentrations below those at which significant cytotoxicity was evident to avoid detection of responses secondary to toxicity. Inhalation experiments used aerosol concentrations chosen to produce similar levels of particle deposition on the airway surface as were delivered in vitro. These were markedly higher than environmental concentrations. No clinical signs of toxicity were seen nor effects on BALF cell counts or LDH levels. There were also no significant changes in transcriptomic or metabolomic responses in lung or BEAS-2B cells to suggest adverse effects.

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“…In the London Underground, Seaton et al [41] reported higher platform concentrations of 480 µg/m 3 . Recently, Smith et al [42] assessed day to day variation in LU concentrations and compared them with those above ground. During their campaign, 22 repeat journeys were made on weekday mornings over a period of five months.…”

Section: Pm 25 Concentration In the London Undergroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Health Burden Misclassification from the Use of Different PM2.5 Exposure Tier Models: A Case Study of London

Kazakos

Luo

Ewart

2020

IJERPH

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Exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with increased mortality in urban areas. Hence, reducing the uncertainty in human exposure assessments is essential for more accurate health burden estimates. Here, we quantified the misclassification that occurred when using different exposure approaches to predict the mortality burden of a population using London as a case study. We developed a framework for quantifying the misclassification of the total mortality burden attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in four major microenvironments (MEs) (dwellings, aboveground transportation, London Underground (LU) and outdoors) in the Greater London Area (GLA), in 2017. We demonstrated that differences exist between five different exposure Tier-models with incrementally increasing complexity, moving from static to more dynamic approaches. BenMap-CE, the open source software developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was used as a tool to achieve spatial distribution of the ambient concentration by interpolating the monitoring data to the unmonitored areas and ultimately estimating the change in mortality on a fine resolution. Indoor exposure to PM2.5 is the largest contributor to total population exposure concentration, accounting for 83% of total predicted population exposure, followed by the London Underground, which contributes approximately 15%, despite the average time spent there by Londoners being only 0.4%. After incorporating housing stock and time-activity data, moving from static to most dynamic metric, Inner London showed the highest reduction in exposure concentration (i.e., approximately 37%) and as a result the largest change in mortality (i.e., health burden/mortality misclassification) was observed in central GLA. Overall, our findings showed that using outdoor concentration as a surrogate for total population exposure but ignoring different exposure concentration that occur indoors and time spent in transit, led to a misclassification of 1174–1541 mean predicted mortalities in GLA. We generally confirm that increasing the complexity and incorporating important microenvironments, such as the highly polluted LU, could significantly reduce the misclassification of health burden assessments.

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PM2.5 on the London Underground

Cited by 70 publications

References 70 publications

A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality

A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality

Environmentally Relevant Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Produce Limited Acute Pulmonary Effects in Rats at Realistic Exposure Levels

Quantifying the Health Burden Misclassification from the Use of Different PM2.5 Exposure Tier Models: A Case Study of London

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