Today on the podcast, I am joined by Dr. Linda George, PhD of Portland State University. She co-led the study that led to the elaborate air filtration system I can see on top of Harriet Tubman Middle School from my office. As I said on the blog last week, when I started the journey on becoming a lung doctor, I never really thought that I’d be interviewing an atmospheric chemist. However, my experience as a physician treating patients who have been heavily exposed to diesel or have grown up breathing more polluted air has led me to look at the world in a different way. We dive into that extensively on the podcast today, talking about how inequities have led to the delayed evaluation of the air toxics at Tubman, to how bicycle lane design can decrease cyclist exposure to ultrafine particulate matter, and whether you should drive with or without the recirculated air in your car.
Dr. George studies what is actually in our air apart from the large averaging sensors that pick up the regulated Clean Air Act pollutants. Microenvironments really matter here, and we have a long history in our country of allowing certain communities to breathe air that is unhealthy. This is something that affects all of us. What we breathe really matters and it is not regulated on a federal level. It is actually up to local States and municipalities to learn about what’s in their air, and decide on what they want for their children and communities. Just as we previously explored on this podcast the gap between what is legal and what is safe in terms of air toxics, Dr. George dives into how the components of the studied particles actually matter.
For those interested in learning more about the specific case of Harriet Tubman Middle School, this podcast will be helpful for you. You can also check out last week’s blogpost here.
Please listen to the podcast, and feel free to share your thoughts with me on the comments section or record a question on the Anchor site.
Twitchy Airways Club Members– particulate matter exposure can exacerbate airway disease. Cycling or walking on lower traffic roads is good for your health, and Dr. George points out ways that even short distances, selecting “cycle track” bicycle lanes when able, etc, will decrease your exposure to particulate matter.
We talked about several studies today on the podcast, some of them are listed below, in addition to the studies I mention in the blogpost.
References:
Air quality at Tubman- Gall and George et al. Indoor and outdoor air quality at Harriet Tubman Middle School and the design of mitigation measures: Phase I report. 2018.
Bicycle lane study– George et al- evaluating benefit of “cycle track” bicycle lane design in decreasing PM exposure as well sound barrier effects, etc
For more of Dr. George’s published work
Di et al. “Air Pollution and Mortality in the Medicare Population.” NEJM 2017– study of Medicare beneficiaries where mortality trends continue below “safe” levels
Portland article on dirty diesel Tubman article- source of kids photo
