Exposure to ultrafine particles while walking or bicycling during COVID-19 closures: A repeated measures study in Copenhagen, Denmark

Highlights

• Active mobility close to motorized traffic exposes people to high levels of UFP.

• COVID-19 closures reduced the need to commute and therefore local traffic counts.

• We measured UFP, walking and bicycling, during COVID-19 closures and re-opening.

• PNC levels decreased continuously during phased re-opening.

• PNC decreases mainly driven by meteorological factors (wind speed, temperature).

Abstract

Ultrafine particles (UFP; particulate matter <0.1 μm diameter) emitted from motorized traffic may be highly detrimental to health. Active mobility (walking, bicycling) is increasingly encouraged as a way to reduce traffic congestion and increase physical activity levels. However, it has raised concerns of increased exposure to UFP, due to increased breathing rates in traffic microenvironments, immediately close to their source. The recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) societal closures reduced commuting needs, allowing a natural experiment to estimate contributions from motorized traffic to UFP exposure while walking or bicycling.

From late-March to mid-July 2020, UFP was repeatedly measured while walking or bicycling, capturing local COVID-19 closure (‘Phase 0’) and subsequent phased re-opening (‘Phase 1', '2', '2.1' & '3’). A DiSCmini continuously measured particle number concentration (PNC) in the walker/bicyclist's breathing zone. PNC while walking or bicycling was compared across phased re-openings, and the effect of ambient temperature, wind speed and direction was determined using regression models.

Approximately 40 repeated 20-minute walking and bicycling laps were made over 4 months during societal re-opening phases related to the COVID-19 pandemic (late-March to mid-July 2020) in Copenhagen. Highest median PNC exposure of both walking (13,170 pt/cm³, standard deviation (SD): 3560 pt/cm³) and bicycling (21,477 pt/cm³, SD: 8964) was seen during societal closures (Phase 0) and decreased to 5367 pt/cm³ (SD: 2949) and 8714 pt/cm³ (SD: 4309) in Phase 3 of re-opening. These reductions in PNC were mainly explained by meteorological conditions, with most of the deviation explained by wind speed (14–22%) and temperature (10–13%). Highest PNC was observed along major roads and intersections.

In conclusion, we observed decreases in UFP exposure while walking and bicycling during societal re-opening phases related to the COVID-19 pandemic, due largely to meteorological factors (e.g., wind speed and temperature) and seasonal variations in UFP levels.