快猫短视频

High prams with canopies that shield a baby鈥檚 head could go some way towards reducing exposure to dangerous particle pollution.

By kitting out prams with air quality sensors and taking them for a stroll, a team at the University of Surrey are studying how much pollution babies are exposed to and the pram designs that do the best to combat it.

They鈥檝e found that higher prams are better, as most particle pollution concentrates at the first metre above road level. Children in prams breathe at an average height of about 0.85 metres, meaning they are exposed to about 60 per cent more pollution than adults.

On top of this, particle pollution is more dangerous to infants than adults, says Jonathan Griggs at Queen Mary University of London. Babies breathe faster than adults and they are more vulnerable to the effects of pollution because the protective mechanisms in their lungs are not yet fully developed, he says.

When choosing the best pram for defending against pollution, the weather also plays a role. Hot summer air concentrates pollution close to the ground, making seat height an important feature of prams. But when the air is cold, the heat from car exhausts whirls dangerous particles higher in the air, after which they descend. In these cases, prams with some kind of covering, such as canopies or even plastic bad-weather covers, go some way towards protecting children from pollution falling down on them from above.

鈥淭here are very few existing studies to draw conclusive evidence on which pram design is best,鈥� says Prashant Kumar, who led the research. So far he is only able to identify broad things to look for in a pram, but his team are running further tests until the end of September, after which they plan to make more detailed recommendations.

Pollution Filters

In the future, it may be possible to purchase add-on air filter systems for prams. One currently in development is called Brizi. The device consists of a flat headrest with wings on either side of the baby鈥檚 head.

Air is sucked in on one side, cleaned, and blown out the other, creating a bubble of slightly higher air pressure, which keeps out particles.

Exposure to particle pollution damages lungs and can cause inflammation and long-term respiratory problems. According to the UK government鈥檚 Clean Air Strategy, around 340,000 life years are lost in the country every year due to pollution.

Brizi was invented by Yosi Romano after pushing his baby daughter down London鈥檚 busy Finchley Road. 鈥淚 felt the heat and fumes coming out of the bus exhaust,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought, this cannot be healthy.鈥�

Designing better prams is only an interim solution to tackling pollution itself, says Griggs. 鈥淚 would turn the problem on its head,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly prudent not to stick your child next to an exhaust pipe, but in the end it鈥檚 not about protecting babies by technology, but reducing emissions on roads.鈥�