Monitoring Excess Exposure to Air Pollution for Professional Drivers in London Using Low-Cost Sensors

Abstract

In this pilot study, low-cost air pollution sensor nodes were fitted in waste removal trucks, hospital vans and taxis to record drivers’ exposure to air pollution in Central London. Particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ), CO 2 , NO 2 , temperature and humidity were recorded in real-time with nodes containing low-cost sensors, an electrochemical gas sensor for NO 2 , an optical particle counter for PM 2.5 and PM 10 and a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor for CO 2 , temperature and relative humidity. An intervention using a pollution filter to trap PM and NO 2 was also evaluated. The measurements were compared with urban background and roadside monitoring stations at Honor Oak Park and Marylebone Road, respectively. The vehicle records show PM and NO 2 concentrations similar to Marylebone Road and a higher NO 2 -to-PM ratio than at Honor Oak Park. Drivers are exposed to elevated pollution levels relative to Honor Oak Park: 1.72 μ g m − 3 , 1.92 μ g m − 3 and 58.38 ppb for PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and NO 2 , respectively. The CO 2 levels ranged from 410 to over 4000 ppm. There is a significant difference in average concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 between the vehicle types and a non-significant difference in the average concentrations measured with and without the pollution filter within the sectors. In conclusion, drivers face elevated air pollution exposure as part of their jobs.

Features and Practicability of the Next-Generation Sensors and Monitors for Exposure Assessment to Airborne Pollutants: A Systematic Review

“…Among those proposed, this review focused on the following pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and airborne particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter below 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ) and below 10 µm (PM 10 ) (the coding “PM” was applied to categorize NGMSs that can simultaneously analyze more than one fraction of particulate matter) ( Table 2 ). After the full-text reading step, it was outlined that some pollutants were poorly investigated and the available evidence did not allow for an extensive discussion: for this reason, NGMSs for NO [ 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], NO x [ 32 , 33 ], CO 2 [ 31 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], SO 2 [ 37 , 38 ], and BC [ 39 ] were not discussed in this review. As a first result, we found that the most commonly used sensors to monitor the selected air pollutant gases are those produced by Alphasense ( ; accessed on 22 April 2021; Great Notley, Essex, UK).…”

Exposure to Air Pollution in Transport Microenvironments

“…Vehicle's age, model, size, fuel, air conditioning and refueling are the main factors considered in the studies [19,[109][110][111][112][113][114][115]. The other indoor environments were analyzed less frequently: 6% trains [116][117][118][119][120][121], 5% airplane [122][123][124][125][126], 5% truck/van/ambulance [47,[127][128][129] and 1% (each) for trams [130][131][132][133][134] and boat/ferry [51,135]. Many studies consider different transport modalities at the same time, providing a comparison of pollutant concentrations and evaluating the possible exposure when using one transportation mode compared to the others.…”

Hyperlocal Air Pollution in London: Validating Low-Cost Sensors for Mobile Measurements from Vehicles

“…LCS can be mounted to vehicles that are already present in the target area, either privately owned vehicles driving according to the users’ individual time–activity patterns or commercial vehicles driving fixed routes. Vehicle-based mobile monitoring with LCS has already been performed using many types of vehicles, including, cars/taxis, − buses, − light rail/street cars, , waste trucks, , and bicycles. , LCS have also been used as personal exposure monitors in studies where they are moved between various environments, including vehicles. ,, If LCS are combined with small drones, then myriad uses become possible, including monitoring industrial emissions and conducting atmospheric chemistry research …”