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Different exposure of infants and adults to ultrafine particles in the urban area of Barcelona

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Abstract

Air pollutants have been linked with a number of adverse health effects. Children are especially sensitive, particularly when they get close to the exhaust emissions of the vehicles on the street. The objective of this study was to measure the different exposure of infants and adults to ultrafine particles (UFP) as a surrogate marker of air pollution and of risk of deleterious health effects. Two different portable P-TRAK® were used to measure simultaneously exposure to UFPs at different heights, one corresponding to the height of an infant in a stroller (0.55 m) and the other one to the height of the face of an adult pedestrian (1.70 m). Measurements were taken on three different streets with high traffic density in Barcelona, in 10 consecutive days during spring, with two sampling sessions of 1 h each day, moving afoot and taking into account temperature, humidity, and wind speed. Fifty-two thousand and eight (52,008) paired values were obtained, and the results showed about 10 % higher levels of UFP concentration at 0.55 m (48,198 ± 25,296 pt/cm3) compared to 1.70 m (43,151 ± 22,517 pt/cm3). Differences between working and nonworking days were observed. Concentration patterns and variation by days of the week and time periods were related to traffic intensity. This study revealed that infants transported by stroller in urban areas are more exposed to air pollution than walking adults. As infants are more vulnerable and UFP have more effects on their health, measures should be taken to protect this population when it is transported in the street.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by intramural funding of the Neuropsychopharmacologvy Program at IMIM and partially supported by Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain) AGAUR (2009SGR1388), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Red SAMID, RETIC Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. We want to acknowledge the collaboration of Audrey de Nazelle (IMIM).

No source of support of funding was received.

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The authors have no conflict of interest and did not receive any funding.

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Correspondence to Oscar Garcia-Algar.

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Garcia-Algar, O., Canchucaja, L., d’Orazzio, V. et al. Different exposure of infants and adults to ultrafine particles in the urban area of Barcelona. Environ Monit Assess 187, 4196 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4196-5

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