Between July 9 and July 27, 2007, we will be measuring traffic-related air pollution in Mission Hill, as part of a research study involving Harvard University and the Mission Hill Health Movement. Interns and students will be carrying backpacks with air pollution monitors and GPS instruments to determine the locations where measurements were taken. We are also collecting information about traffic on Huntington Ave. and Tremont St., air pollution data from a stationary site, and other important factors. This information will be used to see how pollution levels in Mission Hill relate to traffic on these two roads. Interns and students will also perform traffic counting and traffic logging, and these data will also be used to examine whether either of these traffic characterization methods are useful ways to estimate air pollution levels.
These backpacks include four instruments, which are pictured on the back of this page. They measure ultrafine particles (particles less than 0.1 m in diameter), fine particulate matter (particles less than 2.5 m in diameter), particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide. The instruments will be expected to make some humming and beeping noises, and there will be some tubes coming out of the backpacks to sample the air. They are not creating pollution or using toxic chemicals, but are just measuring what is in the air.
Please note that participants in this project will be carrying these backpacks along sidewalks around Mission Hill. If you have any concerns about this project or would like more information, you may contact the principal investigator of the study, Jonathan Levy, by phone (office: 617-384-8808, cell: 617-459-3364) or by e-mail (jilevy@hsph.harvard.edu). If he is not available, please contact Jonathan Buonocore, a master's student at Harvard School of Public Health (cell: 814-779-9609, e-mail: jbuonoco@hsph.harvard.edu).
We thank you for your interest in this study.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Levy
Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Health and
Risk Assessment