On September 5 and 6, a cyclist will cross the streets in Utrecht (Netherlands) with special equipment that measures (ultra)fine particles in the air. A new method will be used, which combines measurements of fine particles with video recordings. The cyclist is filmed while simultaneously the fine particles that he breathes are measured. By combining the video recordings and the measurements, the video will show the cyclist, the traffic surrounding him, and a graph or bar that reflects the cyclist’s exposure to fine particles.

By recording various traffic situations in the city, the method instantaneously shows which type of roads and which vehicles give rise to  the highest exposures to fine particles. The method is called ‘PIMEX’: Picture Mix Exposure Measurement. It is primarily used for assessing exposure to hazardous chemicals at the workplace.

The results of the study will be used to promote measures that may protect cyclists from exposure to fine particles. For example, by excluding polluting vehicles from major cycling routes or by planning cycling routes through roads with little motorised traffic. On the basis of the videos, instruction material for cyclists may be prepared, enabling cyclists to see in which traffic situations they can expect relatively high exposure to fine particles.

The measurement in Utrecht is part of a European project, VECTOR (Visualisation of the Exposure of Cyclists to Traffic On Roads). In  the project, the cyclist associations in the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and Lithuania cooperate with two research institutes: IVAM in Amsterdam and the Kooperationsstelle Hamburg.

 
Remark for journalists and editors:

The presentation of the first measurement outcomes will take place on September 6, 2007, at 14.00 at the Fietsersbond Office, Balistraat 59, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Present will be: Frank Borgman - project leader Fietsersbond, Mario Dobernowsky - researcher at Kooperationsstelle Hamburg and Jeroen Terwoert, project leader VECTOR at IVAM. A few videos from the measurements in Utrecht will be shown at the presentation.

More information: Miriam van Bree - Fietsersbond [tel. 00 31 6 13047368] or Jeroen Terwoert - IVAM [tel. 00 31 6-14203441].