June, 2024

Lab 1: Environmental Health

In the first Summer Course I took this year on Environmental Health, taught by Jules Kerckhoffs, and Daniel Figueiredo, one of the projects we worked on during the two-week program was to monitor NO2 pollution on Science Park's main roads. We aimed to identify areas with higher exposure to air pollution. We placed passive NO2 samplers outside for a week. After being collected by Jules and analyzed in a lab, we examined the data, and Jules created the map above.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a gas that is a significant air pollutant. It is primarily produced from the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities. NO2 can also form from natural sources such as wildfires and lightning strikes. Exposure to high levels of NO2 can cause respiratory problems and other health issues, making it important to monitor and manage its presence in urban environments.

The Heidelberglaan is the main road in Science Park Utrecht that most students take every day to go to class. It also appreas to be one of the ares where the exposure is the highest. This road and the whole area are going to be redeveloped and improved. The goal is to create a dynamic center with healthy urban living. Researchers and students are invited to contribute ideas and interventions to enhance healthy urban living. The goal of this Summer Course in the long term is to collect data to contribute to the future descision making to improve Utrecht Science Park.

Via the website LML you can find lab-grade reference measurements of NO2 for the study period.