Modeling population exposure to air pollution near the road network of Norway, and the effects of measures to reduce the exposure

Population exposure to NO2 and PM10 along the main road network of Norway in the years 1992, 1998 and 2002 has been calculated, using the model RoadAir. The calculations represent maximum concentrations of NO2 and PM10 that occur outside the homes of people living next to main roads. As expected, it was found that the majority of those exposed live in Oslo. An abatement measure analysis covering Oslo was carried out, applying both economic, traffic and air pollution modeling. It was found that exposure to ‘high’ and ‘medium’ pollution level could be avoided by a number of means including road cleaning, traffic management, introduction of electrical and natural gas driven vehicles, a toll road circle around the inner city and—to some degree—expropriation of residential houses. To avoid exposure to the ‘low’ level of pollution, which corresponds to 2.5 times the Norwegian air quality guideline, economic measures giving substantial general traffic reductions and/or substantial transfer to alternative vehicle technology would be needed.