Babies in bike trailers exposed to higher levels of pollutants than their parents, Surrey study finds

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/942858

 

 News Release 9-Feb-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Surrey

 

Babies and children sitting in bicycle trailers breathe in more polluted air than the adults riding the bikes that pull them --- but trailer covers can help halve air pollution levels, according to research from the University of Surrey.

In research published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) found that on journeys typical of school or nursery runs, the average concentration of coarse air pollution particles in a bike trailer is 14% higher than at cyclist height and 18% higher than cyclist height in the afternoons when parents or carers typically collect children.

The researchers found that young children were exposed to even higher concentrations of air pollution during peak morning periods at urban pollution hotspots, such as traffic lights.

Air pollution is a leading cause of death in children under the age of five.

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