On the exposure of schoolchildren to carbon monoxide

The exposure to CO of schoolchildren was assessed in the town of Northampto n, UK, both by direct measurement and by GIS-based activity modelling. Pers onal measurement of CO showed that exposures when travelling by car were si gnificantly greater than those when walking, although journey times by car were shorter. However, journey exposures had little effect on maximum 8h me an CO exposures. CO concentration fields in the study area were modelled fr om current traffic flows, and those expected under different traffic manage ment scenarios. These fields were then used, in combination with children's home and school location, and their activity profiles, to simulate frequen cy distributions of exposure for different transport modes and traffic mana gement scenarios. The results show a large variability in the effect of tra ffic management interventions, depending on the child's home and school loc ation.