Assessment of Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Case Study of Pregnant Women in South Texas

Mohammad Hashem Askariyeh, Suriya Vallamsundar, Josias Zietsman and Tara Ramani
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Mohammad Hashem Askariyeh: Environment and Air Quality Division, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 1111 RELLIS Parkway, Suite 3401, Bryan, TX 77807, USA
Suriya Vallamsundar: Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 12700 Park Central Dr, Suite 1000, Dallas TX 75251, USA
Josias Zietsman: Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 1111 RELLIS Parkway, Suite 3401, Bryan, TX 77807, USA
Tara Ramani: Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 1111 RELLIS Parkway, Suite 3401, Bryan, TX 77807, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: Population groups vulnerable to adverse effects of traffic-related air pollution correspond to children, pregnant women and elderly. Despite these effects, literature is limited in terms of studies focusing on these groups and a reason often cited is the limited information on their mobility important for exposure assessment. The current study presents a method for assessing individual-level exposure to traffic-related air pollution by integrating mobility patterns tracked by global positioning system (GPS) devices with dynamics of air pollutant concentrations. The study is based on a pool of 17 pregnant women residing in Hidalgo County, Texas. The traffic-related particulate matter with diameter of less than 2.5 micrometer (PM 2.5 ) emissions and air pollutant concentrations are predicted using MOVES and AERMOD models, respectively. The daily average traffic-related PM 2.5 concentration was found to be 0.32 µg/m 3 , with the highest concentration observed in transit (0.56 µg/m 3 ), followed by indoors (0.29 µg/m 3 ), and outdoor (0.26 µg/m 3 ) microenvironment. The obtained exposure levels exhibited considerable variation between time periods, with higher levels during peak commuting periods, close to the US–Mexico border region and lower levels observed during midday periods. The study also assessed if there is any difference between traffic-related dynamic exposure, based on time-varying mobility patterns, and static exposure, based solely on residential locations, and found a difference of 9%, which could be attributed to the participants’ activity patterns being focused mostly indoors.

Keywords: dynamic exposure; vehicle emissions; air pollution; pregnant women; GPS; dispersion method; particulate matter PM 2.5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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