Title
Integrating travel behavior with land use regression to estimate dynamic air pollution exposure in Hong Kong
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Environment International
Publication Date
4-1-2018
Volume
113
First Page
100
Last Page
108
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
Air pollution, Dynamic exposure, Exposure assessment, Land use regression, Time-activity, Travel behavior
Abstract
Background: Epidemiological studies typically use subjects’ residential address to estimate individuals’ air pollution exposure. However, in reality this exposure is rarely static as people move from home to work/study locations and commute during the day. Integrating mobility and time-activity data may reduce errors and biases, thereby improving estimates of health risks.
Objectives: To incorporate land use regression with movement and building infiltration data to estimate time-weighted air pollution exposures stratified by age, sex, and employment status for population subgroups in Hong Kong.
Methods: A large population-representative survey (N = 89,385) was used to characterize travel behavior, and derive time-activity pattern for each subject. Infiltration factors calculated from indoor/outdoor monitoring campaigns were used to estimate micro-environmental concentrations. We evaluated dynamic and static (residential location-only) exposures in a staged modeling approach to quantify effects of each component.
Results: Higher levels of exposures were found for working adults and students due to increased mobility. Compared to subjects aged 65 or older, exposures to PM2.5, BC, and NO2 were 13%, 39% and 14% higher, respectively for subjects aged below 18, and 3%, 18% and 11% higher, respectively for working adults. Exposures of females were approximately 4% lower than those of males. Dynamic exposures were around 20% lower than ambient exposures at residential addresses.
Conclusions: The incorporation of infiltration and mobility increased heterogeneity in population exposure and allowed identification of highly exposed groups. The use of ambient concentrations may lead to exposure misclassification which introduces bias, resulting in lower effect estimates than ‘true’ exposures.
DOI
10.1016/j.envint.2018.01.009
Print ISSN
01604120
E-ISSN
18736750
Funding Information
This study was supported by the Health Effects Institute , Boston, USA under Research Agreement 4941-RFA13-1. The research was part funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards at King’s College London in partnership with Public Health England (PHE).
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Tang, R., Tian, L., Thach, T.-Q., Tsui, T. H., Brauer, M., Lee, M., ... Barratt, B. (2018). Integrating travel behavior with land use regression to estimate dynamic air pollution exposure in Hong Kong. Environment International, 113, 100-108. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.01.009
