All the health benefits of bicycling to work, home and play could be negated by harmful exposure to air pollution, a Colorado State University multiyear study has found.
Researchers following bike commuters in Fort Collins concluded that cyclists, because they are breathing harder, inhale about three times as much pollution as people breathing normally — likely increasing the exposure experienced while cycling.
Air quality researchers John Volckens and Jennifer Peel did find that cyclists and drivers taking an alternative route away from major highways lowered their exposure to pollutants by 20 to 30 percent. Those routes almost always take longer, so in some cases, the benefits of decreased exposure could be offset by longer time on the road.
There is plenty to study, including analyzing data from off-road bike paths. And Peel emphasized that likely health benefits of cycling, overall, may still outweigh the risks.
“But we simply do not have enough information to inform this decision — particularly regarding the adverse health effects due to the air pollution exposure,” said Peel, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences. “The next phase of our study may help to fill that gap.”
Peel and Volckens — an associate professor of mechanical engineering — recruited 45 nonsmoking, healthy Fort Collins commuters to wear monitoring and GPS tracking equipment that measured their air pollution exposure as they commuted by bicycle and car between work and home within the city.
They found that exposures vary by pollutant. Drivers got the highest exposure to carbon monoxide and gaseous pollutants, while cyclists got exposure to particulate matter like black carbon.
They said that building bike lanes is a great way to promote exercise but ignores the problem of exposure to pollution.
The next phase of the study will look at the health indicators of commuters.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or @montewhaley
