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

Jason Gilliland; Matthew Maltby; Xiaohong Xu; Isaac Luginaah; Janet Loebach; Tayyab Shah

doi:10.1016/j.sste.2019.02.004

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

Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol. 2019 Jun:29:51-57. doi: 10.1016/j.sste.2019.02.004. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

Authors

Jason Gilliland¹, Matthew Maltby², Xiaohong Xu³, Isaac Luginaah², Janet Loebach⁴, Tayyab Shah⁵

Affiliations

¹ 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.
² Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
³ Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, Canada.
⁴ 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.
⁵ Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University, London, ON, Canada.

PMID: 31128631
DOI: 10.1016/j.sste.2019.02.004

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Active travel; Air pollution; Particulate matter; Physical activity; Wearable device.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / adverse effects*
Air Pollutants / analysis
Child
Cities
Demography
Environmental Exposure / prevention & control*
Environmental Monitoring
Female
Humans
Male
Ontario / epidemiology
Particulate Matter / adverse effects*
Particulate Matter / analysis
Schools*
Transportation*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter

Grants and funding

CIHR/Canada