Freeway Air Pollution Extends 10x Further Than Previously Believed
Amongst air pollution specialists, it’s been common knowledge that the worst potential health impacts from freeway air pollution extend 500 yards or three football fields from freeways and major roadways.
But according to a new study published last month in the journal Atmospheric Environment, freeway air pollution extends as much as 1 and 1/2 miles downwind, impacting people in many more homes, as outdoor air pollutants penetrate indoor environments through cracks in windows and doors.
Environmental health researchers from UCLA, including lead author Dr. Shishan Hu, from the UCLA School of Public Health, and scientists at the University of Southern California and the California Air Resources Board found that during the hours before sunrise, freeway air pollution extends much further than previously thought.
The research team headed by Dr. Arthur Winer, professor of environmental health sciences at UCLA took recent air pollutants measurements from Interstate 10 in Santa Monica, which extended as far as 2,500 meters — more than 1.5 miles — downwind. This distance is 10 times greater than previously measured daytime pollutant impacts from roadways and has significant exposure implications, since most people are in their homes during the hours before sunrise.
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