Mitigation of health effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants during travel.

摘要：该博士项目将开发新的方法来评估和减轻在NHS患者运输车辆旅行期间暴露于交通相关空气污染物对健康的影响。该项目将使用微型空气污染监测仪和地理信息科学来解释暴露与血压、心率变异性和呼吸功能变化之间的关系。该项目涉及与RTI国际b[1]、苏格兰运输部和格拉斯哥伊丽莎白女王大学医院的医学同事合作。该申请的支持信说明了环境工程和公共卫生之间的合作研究的战略发展将如何直接造福于NHS患者和往返于英国最大医院的专业司机。背景：空气污染对健康的影响受到严格的科学审查，接触空气一直与疾病和预期寿命缩短有关。接触与道路交通有关的污染物特别重要，并构成了欧洲空气污染管制的基础。然而，由于用于估计污染暴露的方法存在缺陷，证据基础仍然有限。到目前为止，一个关键的限制是缺乏便携式污染监测仪器，适合对人们在城市地区旅行时经常大量接触的污染进行量化。通过现有的NERC和Innovate UK研究，以及战略研究基础设施资金，该学生将受益于最先进的便携式空气质量监测设备。该项目将建立在现有的传感器现场评估实践经验的基础上[3,4]，使用RTI国际公司最近开发的新型监测系统来检查空气污染暴露对潜在高度暴露的专业司机和潜在易感人群在NHS血压和睡眠与呼吸诊所的影响。苏格兰交通干线事故支持服务专业司机对交通相关空气污染的暴露也将作为NHS车辆暴露主要研究的背景进行评估。*开发微型、不引人注目的监测系统的新用途，以评估旅行期间暴露于空气污染对健康的影响（包括开发和应用东道国研究联盟正在进行的对最先进的微型空气传播颗粒[质量、数量、黑碳]和气体[二氧化氮、臭氧]传感器系统的现场评估[3,4]）。*设计简单的干预研究，以确定减少在旅行期间接触污染对健康的好处（包括因应外部交通情况而策略性地操作客舱通风/过滤系统；以及调查创新的高效客舱过滤[5]的好处）。参考资料：[1]http://www.rti.org/[2] http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104509[3] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.04.059 [4] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.11.002[5] http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es404952q

Summary: This PhD project will develop new methods to assess and mitigate the health effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants during travel within NHS patient transport vehicles. The project will use miniature air pollution monitors and geographical information science to interpret associations between exposure and changes in blood pressure, heart rate variability, and respiratory function. The project involves collaboration with RTI International [1], Transport Scotland, and medical colleagues in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital University in Glasgow. The letters of support for this application illustrate how strategic development of collaborative research at the interface between environmental engineering and public health will be of direct benefit to NHS patients and professional drivers travelling to and from the largest hospital in the UK.Background: The health effects of air pollution are subject to intense scientific scrutiny, with exposure consistently associated with illness & shortening of life expectancy [2]. Exposures to road traffic-related pollutants are particularly important and have formed the basis of air pollution regulation in Europe. However the evidence base remains limited by deficiencies in methods used to estimate pollution exposures. Until now a key limitation has been a lack of portable pollution monitoring instruments suitable for quantification of frequently substantial exposures while people travel within urban areas. Through extant NERC and Innovate UK research, and strategic research infrastructure funding, the studentship will benefit from availability of state of the art, portable air quality monitoring equipment. The project will build on existing practical experience in field evaluation of sensors [3,4] to use novel monitoring systems recently developed by RTI International to examine the effect of air pollution exposure on potentially highly exposed professional drivers and potentially susceptible individuals attending NHS Blood Pressure and Sleep & Respiratory clinics. The exposure of professional drivers for Transport Scotland's Trunk Road Incident Support Service to traffic-related air pollution will also be assessed as context to the main study of exposure within NHS vehicles.Objectives: * To develop novel use of miniature, unobtrusive monitoring systems to assess health effects of exposure to air pollution during travel (including development and application of the host research consortium's on-going field evaluations of state of the art miniature airborne particle [mass, number, black carbon] and gas [nitrogen dioxide, ozone] sensor systems [3,4]).* To design simple intervention studies to determine the health benefits of reducing pollution exposure during travel (including strategic operation of cabin-ventilation/filtration systems in response to external traffic conditions; and investigation of the benefits of innovative high-efficiency cabin-filtration [5]).References:[1] http://www.rti.org/[2] http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104509[3] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.04.059 [4] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.11.002[5] http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es404952q