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Personal exposures to traffic-related particle pollution among children with asthma in the South Bronx, NY

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 20, pages 446–456 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Personal exposures to fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5), and to its traffic-related fraction, were investigated in a group of urban children with asthma. The relationships of personal and outdoor school-site measurements of PM2.5 and elemental carbon (EC) were characterized for a total of 40 fifth-grade children. These students, from four South Bronx, NY schools, each carried air pollution monitoring equipment with them for 24 h per day for ∼1 month. Daily EC concentrations were estimated using locally calibrated reflectance of the PM2.5 samples. Personal EC concentration was more closely related to outdoor school-site EC (median subject-specific: r=0.64) than was personal PM2.5 to school-site PM2.5 concentration (median subject-specific: r=0.33). Regression models also showed a stronger, more robust association of school site with personal measurements for EC than those for PM2.5. High traffic pollution exposure was found to coincide with the weekday early morning rush hour, with higher personal exposures for participants living closer to a highway (<500 ft). A significant linear relationship of home distance from a highway with personal EC pollution exposure was also found (up to 1000 ft). This supports the assumptions by previous epidemiological studies using distance from a highway as an index of traffic PM exposure. These results are also consistent with the assumption that traffic, and especially smoke emitted from diesel vehicles, is a significant contributor to personal PM exposure levels in children living in urban areas such as the South Bronx, NY.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), the NYU-NIEHS Center of Excellence Grant ES00260, and by the EPA under Grant no. R827351 (Agreement No. X-982152) and under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship Program. The views expressed herein may not reflect the views of the EPA. The collaboration of the New York City School System and South Bronx community group partners (Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, The Sports Foundation, Nos Quedamos, The Point CDC) was essential for the completion of this research. Special acknowledgement to Dritan Xillari, Jessica Clemente, Martin Blaustein, John Gorzcynski, Ramona Lall, Sarah Langan, Jeff DeMinter, and Dr. James Schauer, who made significant contributions to this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, New York, USA

    Ariel Spira-Cohen, Lung Chi Chen & George D Thurston

  2. School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey

    Michaela Kendall

  3. Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Rebecca Sheesley

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  1. Ariel Spira-Cohen
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  2. Lung Chi Chen
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Correspondence to George D Thurston.

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Spira-Cohen, A., Chen, L., Kendall, M. et al. Personal exposures to traffic-related particle pollution among children with asthma in the South Bronx, NY. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 20, 446–456 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.34

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