Smog => lung damage

[OneEighth]

I ride regardless. I just take it easier (assuming I can afford to do so) and keep the route direct.

[CCrew]

@OneEighth 5649 wrote:

I ride regardless. I just take it easier (assuming I can afford to do so) and keep the route direct.

Same here. That said, it was a nasty ride home due to the air quality. I was on the pavement @ 2:30

I wear a HR monitor that mates to my Garmin, when it starts climbing into the 150’s at times I know normally it’s no more than 130 or so It’s pretty obvious the effect the heat/air has.

[ronwalf]

Air quality varies throughout the day. You can check the current levels and forecast here:
http://www.mwcog.org/environment/air/forecast/

I ride home later when the heat and humidity is bad. I’d adjust my speed for air quality… if I ever remembered to check it. Today, however, my wife announced that cobbler was coming out of the oven, so I ignored my own advice and gunned it all the way home.

[Riley Casey]

Just to illuminate my miserably poor understanding of the subject… Does anyone know how localized or granular something like smog is? Do pollutants disperse and equalize very quickly or is there a substantial difference between riding on a major six lane rush hour artery and riding just a few blocks away? I know that even on very bad AQI days that I can easily detect a qualitative difference in the air along the 200 yard stretch I do alongside the park each morning. That however is just a few minutes after crossing upper 16th Street .

[Joe Chapline]

@Riley Casey 5657 wrote:

Just to illuminate my miserably poor understanding of the subject… Does anyone know how localized or granular something like smog is? Do pollutants disperse and equalize very quickly or is there a substantial difference between riding on a major six lane rush hour artery and riding just a few blocks away? I know that even on very bad AQI days that I can easily detect a qualitative difference in the air along the 200 yard stretch I do alongside the park each morning. That however is just a few minutes after crossing upper 16th Street .

I do NOT know, but that won’t keep me from posting. Just an observation: I’ve looked at lots of air quality reports over many years, and I’ve never seen any attempt to make them very local. Air quality maps depict areas that cover whole states.

[Greenbelt]

I did a bit of on-road riding today (away from DC). Because I mostly ride on trails and low-traffic routes when I commute in DC, I forget how much worse the air quality seems just being in traffic with all those cars and trucks. I do NOT know the answer to the question either, but I’d bet that air quality varies a lot even within the region on low wind/stagnant air days — much better in the parks away from traffic; much worse near heavy traffic.

[elcee]

Here’s one data point, from Jeff Mapes, “Pedaling Revolution,” pp. 241-242:

“Busy roads are toxic air corridors, with pollution levels that can be much higher than a few hundred yards away. An Amsterdam study found that people living near busy streets are exposed to two times as much particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Similarly, a Harvard School of Public Health study concluded that there is a 500-foot to 1,500-foot zone around heavily trafficked streets with significantly higher pollution levels. … A report from the Center for Technology Assessment found twenty-three studies showing higher pollution levels in cars than in monitoring stations along the side of the road. …

“… This means drivers of motor vehicles are often exposed to worse air pollution than they may be led to believe by measurements of overall air quality. Researchers believe these high pollution levels may be one factor in the previously mentioned German study about driving and heart attacks. The question for cyclists is what kind of risk they are putting themselves in when they ride on busy streets – which in many cities is often a necessity.

“A Dublin study found cyclists were exposed to higher levels of particulate matter, probably, the researchers concluded, because they were frequently sharing the lane with diesel buses, a prime cause of air pollution. In addition, depending on how deeply cyclists are breathing, the study said they may also be absorbing greater quantities of benzene, which can cause cancer, and of other pollutants implicated in respiratory and heart problems.”

[JimF22003]

I was stuck behind a tour bus at Hains Point last night (he pulled out in front of me…) Oh the diesel fumes!

[PotomacCyclist]

I definitely notice an increase in particulates and nasty chemicals the closer I get to buses, trucks and cars. I usually try to hold my breath while I pass near them. If there isn’t room to pass quickly, then I’ll back off and get away from the exhaust. I’ve probably extended my life by three years by not breathing in all of that junk. (Well, maybe only 2 1/2 years.)

At the other end of the spectrum, the air in Zermatt in the Swiss Alps is almost pristine. It doesn’t get that hot. More importantly, they prohibit all gas-powered vehicles. Only electric vehicles are allowed. I guess someone is burning coal somewhere to generate much of that electricity (or it could be hydroelectricity or nuclear). But none of those emissions are found in Zermatt.

[mosesdef]

After a commute (on Seven Locks Rd., a fairly busy road) I usually have a fine layer of dust/dirt covering my face… is this the same as the toxic particulates that can cause lung damage?

[Jsnyd]

Not sure, but I can imagine that constant exposure to vehicle exhaust could eventually hurt. Seeing as carbon monoxide is toxic. I would guess that the first sign of poisoning would be heavy fatigue. Once that happens you might want to stay off the road for a few weeks. There has been quite a few air quality alerts in this area. I try not to stay out too long on those days. They are harmful to the young and elderly and people with respiratory issues. I have a weather channel app on my iphone and that will give me a heads up on the weeks alerts and a fair judgment of weather.

[WillStewart]

From the American Lung Association;

Washington, D.C. (January 7, 2011)— According to the study, conducted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, ozone, the major component of smog, damaged the lung tissues of healthy young adults exposed in a laboratory setting despite being at levels well below what is currently considered safe. This new information provides a strong warning that people with asthma or other lung diseases, including children and older adults, face even greater health threats from this most common air pollutant.

Ozone is an invisible gas made of three oxygen atoms (O3). Ozone reacts chemically with internal body tissues, such as those in the lung, irritating and inflaming the respiratory system. Ozone causes shortness of breath, chest pain inflammation of the lung lining, wheezing and coughing, and increased risk of asthma attacks, need for medical treatment and for hospitalization for people with lung diseases. Ozone also increases the risk of early death. People most at risk include children, senior citizens, those with lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as those who work or exercise outdoors.

[WillStewart]

On other orange alert days when I hadn’t paid any attention to them, I noticed that I seemed to have less lung capacity, though at that time I chalked it up to early summer pollen or humidity. Now I am going to structure my ride schedule around the projected level of ozone.

I did not ride today due to the forecast, but the rest of the week is looking good.

[WillStewart]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=air-pollution-triggers-cyclists-heart-risks

Sheer proximity to tailpipes is one reason why cyclists have a high exposure to the tiny particle pollutants, which are emitted by vehicles along with thousands of other chemicals. Diesel buses and trucks are among the worst offenders.

“The closer you are to the source of the fresh exhaust, the worse it is,” said Patrick Ryan, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Cincinnati, who studies the health effects of traffic-related pollution.

Near the tailpipe, these particles are small enough to lodge deep in the lungs, triggering heart attacks and hospitalizations from lung diseases such as asthma. Tiny particles can also cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially harming the nervous system. Farther away from the tailpipe, these particles clump together, growing too large to lodge deeply, Ryan said.

[mosesdef]

thank you Jsnyd and WillStewart for the insight.

[Author]

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