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http://dx.doi.org/10.5668/JEHS.2009.35.6.447

Comparison of Commuters' PM10 Exposure Using Different Transportation Modes of Bus and Bicycle  

Kim, Won (Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University)
Kim, Sung-Yeon (Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University)
Lee, Ji-Yeon (Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University)
Kim, Seong-Keun (Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University)
Lee, Ki-Young (Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University)
Publication Information
Journal of Environmental Health Sciences / v.35, no.6, 2009 , pp. 447-453 More about this Journal
Abstract
Cycling has been lately recommended as an alternative commuting mode because it is believed to be good for health and the environment. However, the exposure to environmental pollutants, such as fine particulates, could be a potential problem for cycling in urban environments. In this study, we compared commuters' $PM_{10}$ exposure using the different transportation modes of bicycle and bus. When a bicycle was used as a commuting mode, the additional $PM_{10}$ exposure due to transportation was about 3.5 times higher than that when using a bus. The difference of additional $PM_{10}$ exposures by cycling and bus was statistically significant (p<0.01). The $PM_{10}$ exposure during cycling was significantly correlated with atmospheric $PM_{10}$ concentration (r=0.98, p<0.01) and its correlation coefficient was higher than that of bus (r=0.55, p<0.05). The results of this study demonstrated that the main reasons of higher $PM_{10}$ exposure when using the bicycle as the mode of transport were its vicinity to road traffic and routes that were unavoidably close to road traffic. Bicycle commuting along the road side may not be good for health. Exclusive bicycle lanes away from road traffic are recommended.
Keywords
$PM_{10}$; commuting; bicycle; bus;
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