A new study could help reduce the level of pollutants students are exposed to every day, thanks to an on-board air filtration system recently developed by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The report claims the air filtration system, which is specifically designed for use on school buses, is capable of reducing exposure to vehicle pollutants by up to 88 percent.
The high-efficiency cabin air, or HECA, system has the potential to make the daily commute to and from school safer for countless children around the world. Children are more vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe more quickly and their immune and cardiovascular systems are not fully developed, according to senior author of the study Yifang Zhu.
Interestingly, this system appears to be even more effective at reducing exposure to vehicle pollution under freeway driving conditions according to the report published in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology. This is notable because freeways experience notably high levels of pollutants due to traffic congestion and increased emissions.
“During school bus commuting, children can be exposed to significantly greater levels of air pollutants than a typical resident in the South Coast air basin,” Zhu said. “Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of vehicle pollution is associated with pulmonary and cardiovascular health risks, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage and acute pulmonary inflammation.”
The effects of pollutants on students are generally underestimated, but past research has shown children exposed to higher levels of vehicle pollutants performed more poorly in school.
The system was tested on six school buses without children on board while the buses were sitting still and while they were on freeways or major roadways in Los Angeles. The scientists measured the levels of pollutants in the air inside and outside the bus, including black carbon and other ultrafine particles.
The system is still quite some way from being commercially available. Instead, the next step will be a long-term follow-up study which will be more capable of finding the long-term effectiveness of the system.
“School buses are by far the safest way to transport children between school and home,” Zhu said. “Our goal is to make it also the cleanest way.”
