MSGID: 1:317/3 6272018a   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Anti-idling campaign reduces idling time at elementary schools    
    'Nerdmobile' sampled air quality in pick-up/drop-off line during the   
   study    
      
     Date:   
         May 3, 2022   
     Source:   
         University of Utah   
     Summary:   
         An anti-idling campaign at elementary schools was effective in   
         reducing idling time by 38%, and an air monitoring experiment found   
         that air quality around schools can vary over short distances. These   
         findings can help schools and school districts plan to protect   
         students, staff and the community from unhealthy air pollution   
         both indoors and outdoors.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   An anti-idling campaign at two elementary schools was effective in   
   reducing idling time by 38%, and an air monitoring experiment found   
   that air quality around schools can vary over short distances. These   
   findings, published in the journal Atmosphere, can help schools and   
   school districts plan to protect students, staff and the community from   
   unhealthy air pollution both indoors and outdoors.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   "Idling at schools during drop-off and pick-up times is a substantial   
   problem," says study lead author Daniel Mendoza, a research assistant   
   professor in the University of Utah's Department of Atmospheric Sciences   
   and visiting assistant professor in the Department of City & Metropolitan   
   Planning. "The anti-idling campaign was effective in reducing not only   
   the number of vehicles idling but also the length of idling."  Mendoza and   
   colleagues, including Tabitha Benney, an associate professor of political   
   science, are studying the sources and impacts of air pollution along   
   the Wasatch Front, a region with bowl-like geography that leads to air   
   quality issues. U scientists have developed mobile tools to monitor air   
   quality, including a van filled with research-grade air sensors that's   
   been affectionately named the "Nerdmobile." For this study, the Nerdmobile   
   was parked outside Willow Springs Elementary and Bonneville Elementary for   
   a week at a time in each school's pick-up/drop-off zone. The measurements   
   at the van were then compared with air quality measurements inside the   
   school and near the school's playground.   
      
   They're also interested in the social impacts of air quality. For this   
   study, they partnered with researchers at Westminster College who used   
   the U.S.   
      
   Environmental Protection Agency's Idle-Free Schools Toolkit to conduct   
   an intensive three-month anti-idling campaign involving teachers and   
   parents. "It was extremely important to us that the campaign involved the   
   school community every step of the way," says Rachel Forrest, adjunct   
   professor in the Public Health Program, School of Nursing and Health   
   Sciences, Westminster College.   
      
   "Community members helped shape the look and feel of the campaign and   
   donated their time and expertise to implement it. Without their support,   
   this wouldn't have been possible."  And it worked. The researchers   
   found 38% less idling time and 11% fewer cars idling after the campaign   
   than before.   
      
   The researchers intended to follow up several months later to see how well   
   the effects of the campaign persisted, but unfortunately, school closures   
   due to the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the study in March 2020.   
      
   "Reduced idling has numerous advantages," Mendoza says. "The most   
   important one is the substantial reduction of concentrated pollution   
   in a relatively small area." Recent research from Mendoza, Benney and   
   colleagues found that indoor air quality in two Salt Lake City high   
   schools was impacted by outdoor air quality.   
      
   Idling can also unnecessarily burn fuel -- a fact that becomes more   
   relevant as gas prices have risen in recent months.   
      
   Why do parents idle when dropping off or picking up? It's usually to   
   maintain a comfortable temperature in the car, but studies have found   
   that it takes 10-15 minutes for in-car temperatures to change enough to   
   be uncomfortable.   
      
   What did the team learn about air pollution from idling? Another   
   unfortunate setback, a winter inversion, which traps emissions in the   
   cold valley under a lid of warm air and impairs air quality, set in   
   during the study period, confounding the measurements and making the   
   effect of reduced idling on air quality unclear.   
      
   "However, what the inversion helped us see more clearly was the lasting   
   effects of idling around schools as there were marked pollution spikes   
   following drop- off and pick-up times," Mendoza says. The researchers   
   also noticed that the amount of particulate matter air pollution dropped   
   off between the van parked in the pickup lane and the school playgrounds,   
   highlighting the localized air pollution caused by car emissions.   
      
   "It is not only parents but also school buses that have been culprits of   
   localized pollution hotspots around schools," Mendoza says. Many school   
   districts, he says, have already enacted idling bans for buses. "However,   
   parents are a completely different story."   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Utah. Original written   
   by Paul Gabrielsen.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Daniel L. Mendoza, Tabitha M. Benney, Ryan Bares, Benjamin Fasoli,   
      Corbin   
         Anderson, Shawn A. Gonzales, Erik T. Crosman, Madelyn Bayles,   
         Rachel T.   
      
         Forrest, John R. Contreras, Sebastian Hoch. Air Quality and   
         Behavioral Impacts of Anti-Idling Campaigns in School Drop-Off   
         Zones. Atmosphere, 2022; 13 (5): 706 DOI: 10.3390/atmos13050706   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141308.htm   
      
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