Health fine dust pollution at red traffic lights

Health hazard: At the red traffic light one is fogged with exhaust gases

02/15/2015

Long wait at red lights not only leads to stress for motorists, but also carries significant health risks. Inhaled particulate matter increases the risk of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular problems.

When starting up fast values ​​in the height
For both motorists and other road users, standing at red traffic lights poses a significant health risk due to particulate matter. According to a news agency dpa, an English study shows that commuters spend on average only two percent of their travel time in front of such light signals, but one A quarter of the pollutants produced during the entire journey are exposed. Like Anju Goel and Prashant Kumar from the University of Surrey at Guildford in the journal „Atmospheric Environment“ Write, the values ​​just accelerate enormously when starting up.

Health risks due to fine dust
Manfred Boltze from the Technical University of Darmstadt also emphasizes in the report that the topic has so far been neglected too much. In Germany, about three times more people die prematurely from exhaust-related particulate matter than from traffic accidents. Not only motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, but also passengers on buses are exposed to nanoparticles from the road. The inhaled tiny particles significantly increase the risk for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Various studies have shown that high levels of particulate matter significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. The risk of atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis) increases. There is also evidence that fine dust also promotes diabetes.

Commuters spend 1.5 hours a day at the wheel
According to the researchers, British commuters spend an average of 1.5 hours a day at the wheel. In order to measure as realistically as possible the concentrations to which motorists are exposed on their way to work, the scientists drove a six-kilometer route with a total of ten traffic lights under different conditions, for example with open or closed windows or with ventilation switched on or off. The concentrations of particles between 5 and 560 nanometers in diameter were measured in the outside and inside air.

Lower load when the ventilation is switched off
It turned out that the particle concentrations at traffic lights increased significantly, especially at start-up, when the vehicles burn more fuel. In comparison to flowing traffic, the load on the indoor air skyrocketed up to a factor of 29. The researchers generally measured the signal levels at launch times about six times higher than when standing. In addition, the load of the indoor air at the traffic lights was far below that of the outside air when the ventilation was off.

Air pollution is one of the main risks
Air pollution is ranked among the top ten risks by the World Health Organization (WHO), Kumar is quoted in a statement from his university. „Our time in the car has remained fairly constant over the past decade, but with more vehicles on the roads, we are exposed to increasing levels of air pollution as we commute daily. Drivers should be aware of the increased risks at busy traffic lights“, so the expert. He advises: „It is best to lower the load by closing the windows, turning off the ventilation and leaving as much distance as possible to the vehicle in front.“ Pedestrians should avoid busy traffic lights as much as possible because they too are at increased risk.

10,000 deaths due to traffic-related particulate matter pollution
Traffic engineer Boltze, who was not involved in the study, says the study results are absolutely plausible, the situation in Great Britain is similar to that in Germany. According to estimates, around 10,000 people die from traffic-related particulate matter pollution every year in this country. That's about three times more than accidents. „That's a significant dimension“, said the researcher. He calls for the prevention of a modernization of the traffic lights, so that the traffic flows better. The plants are often not interconnected. In addition, you use outdated control devices and software.

Routes for cyclists off the beaten track
Furthermore, motorists could contribute to their own protection by good maintenance of the ventilation filters. Boltze also emphasized that the health risks involved in the planning of the various means of transport needed to be better taken into account. For example, planners should create routes for cyclists off the main roads. This is because cyclists not only inhale the exhaust gases unfiltered, unlike drivers, but also because they are exposed to an increased accident risk on busy roads. (Ad)

Picture: Gabi Eder