Air Pollution

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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on March 5, 2010 at 2:27pm

> What Country and City do you live in?
Melbourne, Australia (recently moved here from Hobart, Australia)

> What age group are you?
40s

> Are you Male or Female?
Male

> Do you live in an urban or suburban area?
Urban

>Do you commute to work by walking or cycling?
Cycling most days (sometimes walk and rail), 30km round trip

> Do you participate in any outdoor sports in Urban areas?
No, cycling is transport for me, not sport.

> Do you feel any health effects due to air pollution during
> these sporting activities or commuting?
I'd rate Melbourne's air as clean as Hobart's, especially in winter, as wood fires are still widely used in Hobart for heating while Melbournites tend to heat with gas or aircon.

> If yes, what are the effects/symptoms?
N/A

> Are you concerned by the global increases in air pollution?
To an extent. Air and water quality are the ultimate environment issues because they affect us all.


> How common are respiratory masks to for respiratory safety in your country/urban area?
Unnecessary

> Have you ever worn a mask for respiratory protection?
In Hobart during winter, mostly at night due to wood smoke. It was a Protector silicone, , 2 filter, dust/solvent mask.

> If yes, how did you feel about wearing it?
Resented it, but I was working lots of shifts, cycling in cold, smokey air and getting too many colds, so it was necessary.

> If no, would you consider wearing a PPE product (personal protection
> equipment) to aid respiratory safety if you knew air pollution was
> seriously affecting your health?
Yes, but only if particulates and fumes were serious enough. In Melbourne that would mean noticeable particulates from coal-fired power, wood-fired home heating or heavy, grid-locked traffic, to name a few possible sources.

> What do you feel prevents people from wearing a PPE mask for respiritory
> safety? (i.e not considered fashionable or reduced performance or just not
> concerned about the health effects of air pollution)?
Unfashionable (although on the plus side, it's an aggressive look in traffic :-), uncomfortable and some breathing restriction causing reduced performance.

Good luck with the project!

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Permalink Reply by Erika Hansen on March 5, 2010 at 4:15pm

Thanks for your reply! greatly appreciated!

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Permalink Reply by Hielke on March 5, 2010 at 8:11pm

Respiratory Safety for exercising outdoors in Urban areas? For _exercising_? Wow. I use a high end mask when woodworking, but other than industrial applications I don't think there would be a need. Obviously, in Tasmania it could get pretty hairy (see Steve's reply). But if air quality was that bad that I needed a PPE mask to exercise I would go to a gym. Commuting/necessary bike travel would be something else. But even during bushfires or backburning operations I see no masks on the streets of Melbourne. And plenty of people exercising. Maybe you should email the athletes from the Beijing olympics. They were all wearing masks when leaving the plane after landing, but none of them competed with a mask I think. Good luck on your project! Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Cory on March 6, 2010 at 10:22am

What Country and City do you live in?
Melbourne, VIC

What age group are you?
40

Are you Male or Female?
M

Do you live in an urban or suburban area?
Inner suburbs

Do you commute to work by walking or cycling?
Cycling. Every day.

Do you participate in any outdoor sports in Urban areas?
Yes, triathlon over summer.

Do you feel any health effects due to air pollution during these sporting activities or commuting?
No. Occasionally there's dust or on a handful of days, there's been smoke from bushfires. But really, no, not generally.

If yes, what are the effects/symptoms?
Try throat. Discomfort.

Are you concerned by the global increases in air pollution?
Yes

How common are respiratory masks to for respiratory safety in your country/urban area?
Almost never - although with the SwineFlu scare last year, there were a few about ;)

Have you ever worn a mask for respiratory protection?
Yes

If yes, how did you feel about wearing it?
Necessary evil (industrial use)

If no, would you consider wearing a PPE product (personal protection
equipment) to aid respiratory safety if you knew air pollution was
seriously affecting your health?
Potentially, but there's a LOT of conflicting research, and I think those seated in cars in traffic are probably worse off gas-wise. But particulates are what masks would help, and most cars have filters these days.

What do you feel prevents people from wearing a PPE mask for respiritory safety? (i.e not considered fashionable or reduced
performance or just not concerned about the health effects of air
pollution)?
I'm concerned about health effects, however I'm not convinced the current levels are a threat to my health. I can't really comment for other people.

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Permalink Reply by Erika Hansen on March 9, 2010 at 12:38pm

Hey everyone,

Carrying out another pilot survey on responses to a selection of current PPE products currently on the market for respiratory protection for bicycle commuters? Your response is greatly appreciated!

What country and city do you live in?

What is your age?

Are you male or female?


How do you feel about the appearance of each PPE product shown below?

What do you dislike or like about each example?

How do you respond to the material appearance?

How do you respond to each design?


Have you seen anyone wearing a PPE product to aid respiratory protection when bicycle commuting?

Would you wear one for your own protection?

What are your main concerns/anxieties with the PPE products below?

What order would you rate them in and why?

Are you familiar with any other type of PPE product for respiratory protection?

Do you have any other comments or suggestions?


Thanks again!

Attachments:

• anti-pollution-masks-by-sportsta.jpg, 77 KB
• 350__1_dhb-Hunston-Face-Mask-med.jpg.png, 153 KB
• totobobo-mask-1.jpg, 48 KB

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Permalink Reply by Livos on March 16, 2010 at 12:37am

What Country and City do you live in?

Australia, Melbourne



What age group are you?

45-50



Are you Male or Female?

M



Do you live in an urban or suburban area?

Urban



Do you commute to work by walking or cycling?

Cycling



Do you participate in any outdoor sports in Urban areas?

No



Do you feel any health effects due to air pollution during these sporting activities or commuting?

I know about the effects of cars and the ancient style of open fire heating... unless you are asthmatic or walk/ride into an acute cloud of gas/dust you will not feel anything. I'm sure though that many people will tell you they can, most of which is rather a result of environmental anxieties then a physiologic reaction.



If yes, what are the effects/symptoms?

See above. You may want to think carefully about the usefullness/reliabiltiy of the question and even more the answers you are collecting here...



Are you concerned by the global increases in air pollution?

Yes; I'm NOT a former NSW-transport minister...



How common are respiratory masks to for respiratory safety in your country/urban area?

Never seen one...



Have you ever worn a mask for respiratory protection?

No.



If yes, how did you feel about wearing it?

Like wasting my money...



If no, would you consider wearing a PPE product (personal protection equipment) to aid respiratory safety if you knew air pollution was seriously affecting your health?

The question is not whether or not pollution is affecting my health... that sounds like product-placement information-distortion management to me. Of course it does. Obviously everyone would want do something against it. Any "PPE" capable of filtering any of this to any extend worthwhile mentioning is naturally going to be completely incompatible with biking. Not only would it be too bulky, it would be not tolerated as - naturally - it is going to increase your breathing labour expenditure significantly.
There is only one solution: get rid of cars within the city. Except from some workers, ambulances (and the like), some mom's, pensioners and some others, which still leaves the majority of car users, no one has any other excuse for using the car in within city area then plain laziness/convenience.



What do you feel prevents people from wearing a PPE mask for respiritory safety? (i.e not considered fashionable or reduced performance or just not concerned about the health effects of air pollution)?

I don't know about people... but I'm not aware of any product I would possibly take serious - and I find it hard to imagine one. I do see the rational for them, which is - as with so many things wherever something becomes fashionable (here:biking) - induce movement - of your money from your pocket into someone else's pocket...

Good luck with the project however...

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