PSU Friday Transportation Seminar13 February, 2015
Transportation System Impacts on Bicyclists' Air Pollution Risks
Alex BigazziMiguel Figliozzi James PankowWentai Luo
Considerations for System Design and Use
Framework
2
Vehicle Emissions
Air Quality
Traveler ExposureInhalation
Uptake Health Effects
Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Bicyclists’ Exposures
4
0 5 10 15 20
Ultrafine PM
Fine PM
Coarse PM
Black Carbon
CO
VOC
NO2
# studies measuring on-road bicyclists’ exposure concentrations
Pollutant 42 studies
Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Modal Comparisons of Exposure
– Is this actionable information?
Context-dependent results– Bicyclists lower if separated
5Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
vsvs
High-Traffic/Low-Traffic Routes
6Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
CO VOC UFP PM2.5 PM10 BC
Expo
sure
Inc
reas
e on
H
igh-
Traf
fic R
oute
s
N=6 N=11 N=8 N=6 N=3 N=5
Ventilation and Exercise
7Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
50 100 150 200 250 Watts
Vent
ilatio
n (
liter
/min
) 75
50
25
Ventilation & Bicycle Studies
8
57 studies assessbicyclists’ exposure
Ignored38
Constant16
Assumed/Modeled
15Measured
1
Variable3
Modeled 2
Measured1
Ven
tila
tio
n:
Urban Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Bicyclist Uptake Studies
2 studies of biomarkers:
• VOC: blood & urine– Urban bikers > rural bikers
• BC: induced sputum– Bicyclists > transit riders
9Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Research Questions
1. How does uptake vary with roadway and travel conditions?
2. Can transport strategies reduce bicyclist uptake?
10Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Breath BiomarkersExhaled breath is a good proxy for
blood concentrations of VOC
12Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
alphaszenszor.com
VOC in blood
1) Local roads
Pre Breath
Post Breath
On-Road Sampling Segments
20-30 minutes, 3-5 milesExposure & breath VOC
Paired subjects
14Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Pre Breath
Post Breath
2) Major arterials
Exposure Data coverage
15Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
74 breath samples
3 subjects
9 days
~40 hours of data
Model Development
• Exposure concentrations
• Ventilation
• Breath concentrations~ exposure + ventilation~ weather + roadway + travel conditions
16Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Results: VOC Exposure Models
• +2% per 1,000 ADT
• +20-30% in stop-and-go riding
• Off-street path +300% in industrial
corridor
18Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
20
Parallel Path Comparison
Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
E Burnside St. SE Ankeney St.
N Williams Ave. NE Rodney Ave.
Naito Pkwy. Riverside Path
Results: Ventilation Models
• 4-8% increase in ventilation per 10 W
• Mean lag ~50 sec
21Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0 50 100 150
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Seconds workload lagged
Cum
ulat
ive im
pact
on ve
ntila
tion
(%
SubjecABCPooled
% Δ
vent
ilatio
n pe
r W
Seconds lag
Breath and Exposure Concentrations
0 1 2 3
Breath
Exposure
Concentration (normalized to Park)
Toluene
Major arterials
Local roads
22Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Results: Breath Biomarkers
• 8 aromatic hydrocarbons were biomarkers of traffic exposure
• Issues– Background concentrations– Endogenous production– High water solubility
23Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Explained variance in breath BTEX
24Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Measured variables Modeled variables
Exposure
Ventilation
Exposure variability
Weather variables
Road & traffic
variables
Steady-state biking work
26Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
50
100
150
200
250
0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 13 14 16
Wor
kloa
d (W
)
Speed (mph)
Rolling Resistance Drag 1% Grade
Inhalation and Speed
27Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 4 8 12 16
Ven
tila
tion
(l/
km)
Speed (mph)
0% Grade2% Grade
Minimum-Inhalation Speed
28Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
5
10
15
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10%
Min
imu
m-v
enti
lati
on
spee
d (m
ph)
Grade
Inhalation and Stops
29Urban Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Cru
ise-
equ
ival
ent
exce
ss
ven
tila
tio
n (
ft)
Cruise speed (mph)
Route Choice
• Detour 1 block to a bikeway vs.– 1.6 blocks on a major arterial– 4.3 blocks on a minor arterial
30Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
?
Comparison with Preferences
31Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Will bicyclists naturally minimize inhaled dose over a trip?
Bike boulevard
or
neighborhood greenway
Bike lane
Minor arterial (no bike lane)
Major arterial (no bike lane)
• Slightly over-avoid
• Balance on collectors (6-10k ADT) • Under-avoid arterials
• Greatly over-avoid
vs.
vs.
vs.
Exercise and Uptake
• Inhalation rate: 2-5x higher
• PM uptake: ≥2-5x higher
• VOC uptake: 1.5-2x higher– Limited by blood/air equilibrium
32Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Findings
Determining factors
• ADT• Stop-and-go riding• Industrial
corridors• Speed & grade• Exposure &
ventilation
Mitigation
• Low-volume streets
• Travel speed choice
• Reducing stops• Separated
facilities
34Urban Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Take-Away Principles 1. Bicyclist Exposure
a) Many different pollutantsb) Traffic, weather, and land-use all important c) Benefits of separation from traffic
2. Bicyclist Inhalationa) Varies greatly with workload (speed, grade)b) Breath response spread out over 1-2 min
3. Bicyclist Uptakea) For particles, highly sensitive to breathingb) For some gases, more sensitive to duration
35Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Bikeway Design ConsiderationsBike lane • High-traffic streets
• Some lateral separation• Dedicated lane reduces duration in
congestion
Bike boulevard
• Low-traffic streets• Additional benefits from traffic calming• Fewer stops reduces uptake
Cycle track • Lateral separation• Fewer stops reduces uptake
Off-street path
• Low exposure (nearby industry?)• Fewer stops reduces uptake
36Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Next Steps
• Abstraction for HIA & CBA• Additional biomarkers • Characterizations of urban bicyclists • Similar study for pedestrians• Crowd-source pollution data
37Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Questions?
39Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Acknowledgments• Dissertation committee: Miguel
Figliozzi, Jim Pankow, Robert Bertini, Jennifer Dill
• NITC research project with support from City of Portland and Metro
• NSF and OTREC fellowships
Parallel Paths
• Burnside > Ankeny– 51% TVOC, 201% CO, 9% PM2.5
• Williams > Rodney– 329% TVOC, 221% CO
• Naito > McCall path– 112% TVOC, 30% CO, 4% PM2.5
42Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
Explained Variance
43Urban Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
BTEX Exposure Exposure variability Ventilation
Road & traffic variables Weather variables
Inhalation and Grade
44Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
-2% -1% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%
Ven
tila
tion
(l/
km)
Grade
11 kph18 kph
Minimum-ventilation envelope
45Urban Bicyclists' Pollution Uptake
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10%
Min
-ven
tila
tio
n v
enti
lati
on
(l
pm
)
Grade