Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27167124›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Health Impact Assessment of a Predicted Air Quality Change by Moving Traffic from an Urban Ring Road into a Tunnel. The Case of Antwerp, Belgium.

Daan Van Brusselen, Wouter Arrazola de Oñate, Bino Maiheu, Stijn Vranckx, Wouter Lefebvre, Stijn Janssen, Tim S Nawrot, Ben Nemery, Dirk Avonts

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Daan Van BrusselenDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Wouter Arrazola de OñateDirector of VRGT (Flemish Society of Respiratory Health), Brussels, Belgium.
Bino MaiheuVITO, Flemish Institute of Technologic Research, Mol, Belgium.
Stijn VranckxVITO, Flemish Institute of Technologic Research, Mol, Belgium.
Wouter LefebvreVITO, Flemish Institute of Technologic Research, Mol, Belgium.
Stijn JanssenVITO, Flemish Institute of Technologic Research, Mol, Belgium.
Tim S NawrotCentre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
Ben NemeryDepartment of Public Health & Primary Care, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Dirk AvontsDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Antwerp ring road has a traffic density of 300,000 vehicles per day and borders the city center. The 'Ringland project' aims to change the current 'open air ring road' into a 'filtered tunneled ring road', putting the entire urban ring road into a tunnel and thus filtering air pollution. We conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) to quantify the possible benefit of a 'filtered tunneled ring road', as compared to the 'open air ring road' scenario, on air quality and its long-term health effects. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe modeled the change in annual ambient PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations by covering 15 kilometers of the Antwerp ring road in high resolution grids using the RIO-IFDM street canyon model. The exposure-response coefficients used were derived from a literature review: all-cause mortality, life expectancy, cardiopulmonary diseases and childhood Forced Vital Capacity development (FVC).

resultsOur model predicts changes between -1.5 and +2 μg/m³ in PM2.5 within a 1,500 meter radius around the ring road, for the 'filtered tunneled ring road' scenario as compared to an 'open air ring road'. These estimated annual changes were plotted against the population exposed to these differences. The calculated change of PM2.5 is associated with an expected annual decrease of 21 deaths (95% CI 7 to 41). This corresponds with 11.5 deaths avoided per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 3.9-23) in the first 500 meters around the ring road every year. Of 356 schools in a 1,500 meter perimeter around the ring road changes between -10 NO2 and + 0.17 μg/m³ were found, corresponding to FVC improvement of between 3 and 64ml among school-age children. The predicted decline in lung cancer mortality and incidence of acute myocardial infarction were both only 0.1 per 100,000 inhabitants or less.

conclusionThe expected change in PM2,5 and NO2 by covering the entire urban ring road in Antwerp is associated with considerable health gains for the approximate 352,000 inhabitants living in a 1,500 meter perimeter around the current open air ring road.

Indexed as

Models, StatisticalAgedAir PollutantsAir PollutionBelgiumChildCitiesEnvironmental MonitoringFemaleHealth Impact AssessmentHumansLife ExpectancyMaleParticulate MatterTransportationVehicle EmissionsAir PollutantsParticulate MatterVehicle Emissions

Identifiers

PMID27167124
PMCPMC4863966

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.