BISCAPE, the pollution measurement campaign of the BiSC project!

From the BiSC Project we have just launched the campaign called BISCAPE (Barcelona Life Cohort Study Air Pollution Exposure) to measure the levels of air pollution in various parts of the city of Barcelona and the metropolitan area simultaneously.

Air pollution is a complex mixture of hundreds of pollutants from various sources (vehicles, industry, etc.). Numerous research studies have focused on the health effects of particulate matter (PM) in the last 30 years. PM is especially relevant because it is one of the components of pollution that most easily penetrates the lungs into the body. Therefore, with this campaign we want to measure, in addition to polluting gases (such as NO2, a well-known gas with irritating effects), particulate matter of different sizes (since the effects on health differ depending on the diameter of these particles).

The measures of this campaign will help us to make a dynamic model of the distribution of air pollutants in the city throughout 2021 and 2022, information that will be complemented by the measures of individual exposure of the BiSC study itself. The measurements are being made from windows, balconies and terraces of public buildings and private volunteer homes in the cities of Barcelona, ​​Esplugues, Hospitalet and Cornellà. This information is very important to be able to properly estimate the impact that air pollution has on children’s health.

We leave you with some photos of the fieldwork. Thanks to all the volunteers!

The text has been written by Mireia Gascón, a researcher of BiSC project.