Mitigation of air pollution exposure to young children (MAPE)

Children's exposure to air pollution is a special concern because of their less-developed immune system and lungs, necessitating a need for effective mitigation measures. There is a significant gap in understanding of the impacts of air pollution exposure on the children's health in the UK and other developing countries such as India, South Africa and South America where they are disproportionately affected with the proliferating levels of particulate matter emissions in both indoor and outdoor environments. Advancing our past research that featured widely (including on BBC; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39216807), mitigation of air pollution exposure to young children (MAPE) project aims to develop novel exposure control methods for in-pram babies by creating a 'clean air zone' around them. Through laboratory and field investigations for both regulated (e.g., PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide) and unregulated (ultrafine particles, black carbon) pollutants, we aim to create a hitherto missing knowledge base for a low-energy, miniature, clean air system for removing gaseous pollutants and particles of varying size. We will investigate questions such as exposure variability in in-pram babies versus adult exposure, the efficiency of passive control mitigation technologies, and characterising outdoor roadside air pollutants in in-pram using indigenous filter testing setup to quantify the efficiency of various filtration systems for potential deployment in prams. Laboratory tests will include to design and test nature-based filtration materials for identifying and recommending best filtration materials. The research will also utilise low-cost air pollution sensor technology to innovate products of industrial partner, for example, identifying the areas where the children are more susceptible to such exposures and developing a database. Through the online pollution routing via an app, prospects of bringing in behavioral changes such as de-routing from polluted routes will be considered. Finally, the project will present a holistic model that integrate technological solutions, community empowerment, and exposure-centric policies to help limit personal exposure of in-pram babies. The research will be directly applied by 'BRIZI Ltd' (industrial collaborator) and benefit to, e.g., policy makers, public, university, UK (and beyond) through reduced health cost.