Commuters’ Personal Exposure Assessment and Evaluation of Inhaled Dose to Different Atmospheric Pollutants

Francesca Borghi, Andrea Spinazzè, Giacomo Fanti, Davide Campagnolo, Sabrina Rovelli, Marta Keller, Andrea Cattaneo and Domenico Maria Cavallo
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Francesca Borghi: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Andrea Spinazzè: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Giacomo Fanti: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Davide Campagnolo: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Sabrina Rovelli: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Marta Keller: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Andrea Cattaneo: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy
Domenico Maria Cavallo: Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, 22100 Como, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Several studies evaluating exposure to pollutants in microenvironments (MEs) are available in the scientific literature, but studies that evaluate the inhaled doses of pollutants are few in number. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the exposure of commuters to different pollutants (i.e., nitrogen dioxide [NO 2 ] and fractionated particulate matter [PM], including ultrafine particles [UFPs]) using miniaturized and portable real-time monitoring instruments in selected MEs; the inhaled doses of these pollutants were estimated for each of these MEs. Measurements were performed along a typical commute, considering different traffic and nontraffic MEs. Experimental data were collected over four working weeks in two different seasons (winter and summer). Different portable and miniaturized instruments were used to evaluate PM and NO 2 exposure. Furthermore, physiological parameters were evaluated using a heart rate monitor. The principal results show that higher exposure levels were measured in Underground (for all PM fractions and NO 2 ) and in Car (UFP), while lower levels were measured in Car (PM and NO 2 ) and in Train (UFP). In contrast, higher values of the inhaled cumulative dose were estimated in environments defined as Other, followed by Walking (ht), while lower values were observed in Walking (lt) and in Car.

Keywords: air pollution; exposure assessment; inhaled dose; commuters; environments; outdoor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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