title: Quantifying traffic exposure.
abstract: Living near traffic adversely affects health outcomes. Traffic exposure metrics include distance to high-traffic roads, traffic volume on nearby roads, traffic within buffer distances, measured pollutant concentrations, land-use regression estimates of pollution concentrations, and others. We used Geographic Information System software to explore a new approach using traffic count data and a kernel density calculation to generate a traffic density surface with a resolution of 50 m. The density value in each cell reflects all the traffic on all the roads within the distance specified in the kernel density algorithm. The effect of a given roadway on the raster cell value depends on the amount of traffic on the road segment, its distance from the raster cell, and the form of the algorithm. We used a Gaussian algorithm in which traffic influence became insignificant beyond 300 m. This metric integrates the deleterious effects of traffic rather than focusing on one pollutant. The density surface can be used to impute exposure at any point, and it can be used to quantify integrated exposure along a global positioning system route. The traffic density calculation compares favorably with other metrics for assessing traffic exposure and can be used in a variety of applications.
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parson
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinoda
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lindgren
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunlap
authors.affiliation: Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yawn
authors.affiliation: Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wollan
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D001335:Vehicle Emissions
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