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Have you ever worn a pollution mask when commuting?

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  • November 19, 2017 at 11:19 am #27858
    Uni_student

    Hello! I’m a final year design student at university, for my final year project I’m investigating city air pollution and designing a protective solution for commuters. It would be great if you could spare a bit of time, your knowledge and experiences with your commute and opinions on current wearables and pollution masks available.

    If you wouldn’t mind filling out a very quick questionnaire it would help my degree massively: https://goo.gl/forms/1Alm2ZDTY5gnz1RD2

    Thank you and kind regards.

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  • November 20, 2017 at 1:06 pm #906407
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    Canyon48
    Uni_student wrote:
    Hi, thanks for your response, I think masks are a dubious topic there are definate health concerns with air pollution in UK cities (a lot worse than people think). The royal college of physicians have explored what the health effects of air pollution is (https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution) and have found that exposure over your lifetime is detrimental to brain, lung and heart health. While this study carried out in the netherlands (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898854/) found that cyclists tend to breathe in more polluted air due to their higher rates of breathing.

    The problem with masks from what I’ve gathered from my research so far is some dont protect against finer particulates in the air and the harmful gases. The seals on masks in the marketplace at the moment mean that polluted air is just breathed in through gaps around the side and masks ultimately make the ride harder as they restrict breathing. 

    This is what I have found very roughly at this stage…

    Welsh boy wrote:
    Without knowing the particle size which these mask filter out (I would want at least PM2.5 filtration) most of the masks appear to be a waste of money (Respro’s website says that their cycling mask is only for filtering out non-toxic particles) and are just an example of marketing BS.

    I thought that would be the case. Total marketing BS. Won’t bother with one then.

     

    The bike industry is mostly driven my total marketing BS. For my third year dissertation, I’ve been looking at reducing the aerodynamic drag of disc brakes. Turns out that, when directly compared to rim brakes, disc brakes cause no more significant drag. Opening the top of your jersey slightly causes vastly more drag than disc brakes do!

    November 19, 2017 at 5:30 pm #906405
    0
    Welsh boy

    Without knowing the particle

    Without knowing the particle size which these mask filter out (I would want at least PM2.5 filtration) most of the masks appear to be a waste of money (Respro’s website says that their cycling mask is only for filtering out non-toxic particles) and are just an example of marketing BS.

    November 19, 2017 at 5:16 pm #906403
    0
    oldstrath

    I know you’re expressly

    I know you’re expressly interested in city commuters, but diesel particulates and fumes are also an issue for rural commuters as well. The exposure levels are probably lower, but followi g some of these vehicles is still unpleasant.

    November 19, 2017 at 4:15 pm #906401
    0
    Uni_student

    Hi, thanks for your response,

    Hi, thanks for your response, I think masks are a dubious topic there are definate health concerns with air pollution in UK cities (a lot worse than people think). The royal college of physicians have explored what the health effects of air pollution is (https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution) and have found that exposure over your lifetime is detrimental to brain, lung and heart health. While this study carried out in the netherlands (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898854/) found that cyclists tend to breathe in more polluted air due to their higher rates of breathing.

    The problem with masks from what I’ve gathered from my research so far is some dont protect against finer particulates in the air and the harmful gases. The seals on masks in the marketplace at the moment mean that polluted air is just breathed in through gaps around the side and masks ultimately make the ride harder as they restrict breathing. 

    This is what I have found very roughly at this stage…

    November 19, 2017 at 3:14 pm #906399
    0
    Canyon48

    Hi James,

    Hi James,

    I’m also a final year student and I study in Bristol. I cycle straight across Bristol (South to North via the city centre) and back again at least every other day.

    I know the pollution is pretty horrific and I often feel sick when arriving at uni (diesel fumes are the worst!). 

    I’ve struggled to find much research that conclusively proves or disproves the effectiveness of masks for commuters.

    I tend to cycle for about one hour through Bristol at least every other day, would a mask be beneficial?

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