Pollution risk to children in bicycle trailers
IT’S a trendy, environmentally friendly form of transport used on school runs.
But carrying children in a bicycle trailer puts them at risk of breathing in more polluted air, according to a study.
Scientists found that on typical school or nursery runs, the average concentration of air pollution particles in a bike trailer is up to 18 per cent higher than at cyclist height.
A team from the university of Surrey took measurements on more than 80 ‘school runs’ covering a total 109 miles on roads near a primary school. They simulated a morning drop-off, measuring pollution between 8am and 10am, and again at the pick-up time of 3pm to 5pm.
Pollution measured included tiny PM2.5 particles – which are very fine and cannot be seen with the naked eye – and larger PM10 particles such as smoke, dust and soot.
The average concentration of air pollution in the bike trailer was up to 14 per cent higher for fine particles and 18 per cent higher for PM10 particles than at cyclist height, the study found.
In the morning, for example, the bike trailer was exposed to 118 micrograms of PM10 particles per cubic metre of air compared with 106 micrograms for the cyclist. A concentration of 101 PM10 particles per cubic metre of air or more is considered ‘very high’.
The study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, found using trailer covers halved the amount of fine particles and cut PM10 particles by 25 per cent in trailers during the morning peak.
Researcher Professor Prashant Kumar said: ‘It’s unfortunate that the very people who help minimise pollution by cycling rather than driving can be exposing their children to higher levels of pollution. I’d encourage adults pulling bike trailers to use covers in heavy traffic.’